Alternative investments

Unlock the potential of alternative investments to diversify your portfolio beyond traditional assets.

Alternatives that align with your ambition

Diversify your portfolio and access innovative global opportunities

Our alternative investments are built on a deep understanding of you and your ambitions, not just your net asset value.

Whether it is to shock-proof your investments with capital protection, or to invest in something different like our well-considered private market opportunities, our range of alternative investments can play a vital role in complementing traditional portfolios, enhancing diversification, resilience, and long-term performance.

Why alternative investments?

How alternatives benefit you

Confidence during market uncertainty

Our alternative investments are designed to give you a defined outcome over your investment period. There are no absolutes in investing, but making smart choices can remove some of the uncertainty, so you can shape your investments around capital growth, income or a balance of both.

Global opportunity without complexity

We give you the flexibility to invest across international markets, currencies, and themes, without choosing individual stocks yourself. Whether markets are rising, flat, or changing, our alternative investments are designed to help you stay invested with confidence.

Diversification that works harder for you

Alternative investments can play a meaningful role alongside your traditional investments. They help to diversify your investment portfolio and strengthen your investment strategy over time.

Confidence during market uncertainty

Global opportunity without complexity

Diversification that works harder for you

Alternative investments can play a meaningful role alongside your traditional investments. They help to diversify your investment portfolio and strengthen your investment strategy over time.

Structured Products

Private market opportunities

Navigating risk and return

We partner with best-in-class global investment managers to give you access to private markets, enabling you to diversify and generate better returns in the long run. These opportunities span various asset classes with differing risk and return characteristics, including real estate, private equity, private debt, venture capital, and commodities.

Autocalls

Earn enhanced returns relative to cash and fixed income

Autocalls are designed to provide various currency exposures and offer a high degree of capital protection. Over time, Autocalls generate almost the same level of return as equities, just with less volatility - giving you back your initial investment plus an enhanced return.

Female checking her phone in meeting room in office

What you see is what you get

2009

Specialised Opportunities Initiative started.

150+

Total number of Specialised Opportunity initiatives identified and created since inception.

R30bn+

Products under management.

^{* Figures as at February 2025}

OUR GLOBAL INVESTMENT PROCESS

Unified perspective. Smarter decisions.

Our Global Investment Strategy Group (GISG) brings together seasoned professionals with over 351 collective years’ experience across four regions: the UK, Switzerland India, and South Africa.
Our global footprint and outlook, combined with our intellectual capital, expertise, and sustained tenure, enable us to form a holistic, unified view on asset allocation, ensuring that investment decisions are made with a broader, more balanced view of the markets.

Learn more

Braam van Heerden, Specialised Opportunities Head

We do the heavy lifting for our clients, scouting and rigorously vetting alternative investment opportunities, negotiating legal terms and delivering a curated opportunity set that lets our clients navigate exclusive investment opportunities and access private markets with confidence and ease.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

Everything you'd like to know about alternative investments, answered in one place.

What are alternative investments?

Alternative investments are investments into non-traditional asset classes beyond stocks, bonds, and cash, such as private equity, private debt, real estate, commodities, infrastructure, and structured products. These investments offer diversification, potentially higher returns and unique risk profiles, but are generally less liquid, not easily accessible and often require specialised knowledge and a higher minimum investment.

How do I invest in alternative investments?

Your wealth manager will help guide your investments in alternative assets, providing tailored advice and expertise, as well as access to diverse alternative investment opportunities. Advisors provide personalised financial planning and portfolio diversification to maximise your long-term returns. Collaborating with a trusted advisor is the best way to optimise your investment strategies and navigate complex markets.

What are the types of alternative investments?

Structured products 
Structured products combine traditional securities like stocks or bonds with derivatives to meet specific investor needs. They offer customised risk-return profiles and may include features such as principal protection, leveraged returns, or participation in a specific market index.

Private equity
Investments into privately-held companies. The major private equity sub-classes can be classified as venture capital (early-stage company), versus the more mature classes like buyouts (restructuring focus), or growth capital (increase in profitability focus).

Real estate 
Direct investments in properties, real estate investment trusts (REITs), or real estate partnerships. Real estate can be classified as residential, commercial, or industrial or specialist like warehousing, self-storage and data centres.

Commodities 
Investments in physical goods such as gold, oil, agricultural products, or other raw materials. You can gain exposure through commodity futures, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed investments or direct physical assets.

Infrastructure
 Investments in essential systems and facilities, such as transportation, communication, energy (with renewables becoming increasingly popular), or public services. Infrastructure investments often offer stable cash flows and long-term returns.

Private debt 
Loans or debt securities provided by funds, rather than banks, bank-led syndicates, or public markets. Private debt investments can include direct lending, mezzanine financing, or distressed debt.

Hedge funds 
Pooled investment fund that makes use of advanced trading and risk management techniques like short selling and leverage to improve investment performance and insulate returns from market risk.

Why are alternative investments important?

Alternative investments can provide diversification benefits, may reduce risk and potentially enhance returns. They are, however, specialist in nature and may come with additional risks and have limited liquidity compared to traditional assets. Due diligence and careful consideration of risk factors are crucial when investing in alternatives. Decisions on how to invest, how much to invest and what to invest in should be done in consultation with your financial advisor or wealth manager.

How much should I allocate to alternative investments?

Your allocation to alternative investments should be based on your specific investment risk tolerance, liquidity needs and overall financial goals. A general guideline might be 10-20% of the portfolio. Alternative investments vary in risk, so understanding objectives and conducting due diligence is crucial in your allocation decision.

Are alternative investments high risk?

Alternative investments encompass a broad spectrum of assets and investment vehicles, each with varying risk and liquidity profiles. While some, like hedge funds or commodities, can carry higher risks due to volatility or complexity, others such as real estate or infrastructure may offer more stable returns but less liquidity. Structured products are dependent on the credit strength of the issuer and investors usually forego dividends when holding the investment.

What are liquid alternative investments?

Liquid alternative investments are strategies offering the benefits of alternatives with improved liquidity. They include hedge funds, alternative investment funds, and some private markets evergreen funds. Employing diverse strategies, they aim to diversify portfolios while addressing the limitations of purchases and redemptions often associated with alternative investments.

Insights from Investec Focus

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Alternative investments