9 Unique Alternative Investments You Can Get To Expand Your Portfolio

 

There are endless opportunities when it comes to investing. And with alternative investments, you can grow your money in unique and never-heard-before ways that can have high returns, too, if appropriately managed. Exploring the stock market and bonds investing is great but requires high technical knowledge. You may not even know that you’re already investing in the future with investing in alternative assets.

Here are some of the unique alternative forms of investments:

Angel investing

Angel investors invest in businesses that are still in their early stages. For your investment, you’ll get equity, which is a percentage of the business. You’ll make your money once you sell your stake, which can take a few years. Like most investments, it can be risky, but the return rate may be higher than you initially expect. Make sure you understand the business and the market and seek help from alternative investment management companies to increase your chances of success.

Mineral rights

If there are minerals underneath your property, you can sell the rights to extract those minerals to a company. Minerals, in this case, is a general term that refers to any precious resource that can be extracted from the ground, including oil, coal, and diamonds, among others. Make sure you take the time to do your research. As you may already know, resource extraction yields a competitive market.

Start your own business

Starting your own business can be one of the most rewarding alternative property investments UK wide. The important thing here is to do your homework and draft a business plan to see how much money you will need to get it off the ground. When drafting a business plan, it should include your market forecast for the next three to five years. This can help you decide whether it’s worth pursuing or not.

Art

Owning fine art is another unique alternative investment. You may focus first on investing in objects from blue-chip artists like Picasso and Monet. Investments from these artists tend to have more stable values. If you’re more aggressive, you may look into Post-War or Contemporary periods if you can find undervalued objects. However, you have to take note that art pieces may drop in value. Before investing, research past auction prices for that particular object or artist. Also, look for a certificate of authenticity and other items of proof to avoid counterfeits.

Antique cars

Another great form of alternative investments is collecting antique, high-end, and vintage cars. A Ford Pinto probably isn’t a wise investment, but a 1964 Chevy Impala Super Sport can be different. Like your current vehicle, maintenance costs and insurance premiums will be recurring investment costs.

Collectibles

Collectibles and antiques can also be a good opportunity if you know what’s valuable. Some remarkable examples include baseball cards and comic book issues that originated from the 1950s. Yet similar items from the 1980s may only be worth the paper printed on due to overproduction. As most alternative assets require a multi-year holding period to appreciate, certain collectibles can produce quick income.

A buy-to-let property

Before you can even consider a buy-to-let property, you need to have at least 25 per cent of the value of the property to use as a deposit for the buy-to-let mortgage, plus a pot of money to cover any refurbishment needed, legal fees, and emergencies (such as unexpected repairs or so-called ‘void’ periods when you are unable to find a tenant). If you’ve cleared that hurdle, the next problem is choosing the property. When done properly, these alternative property investments UK based can yield more profits. You also want to get a property that can be easily rented out and payable using mortgage fees.

Stamps

As long as there are stamp collectors, rare stamps will have value. Some very rare stamps can rack up to six or even seven digits of total profits. Some companies dominate the collectable stamps market and offer private investors ready-made portfolios of rare stamps starting at about £10,000. These companies claim that the value of rare stamps keeps on going up. However, investors should beware. Always research the dominant source of information about the value of stamps and talk to legitimate alternative investment management companies to gain more insights.

Land banking

Land banking companies take a piece of land, parcel it up and sell it off to investors. The hope is that once the land is earmarked for development, it will soar in value. However, there is often no development. Investors are left holding a useless piece of land either in the UK or overseas. With this, several land banking schemes have halted their operations just these past few years.

Opting for alternative investments can expand your opportunities to grow your money and find a balance between earning and spending. Plus, it can help you gain more tax benefits as well. Finding an alternative investment is very simple, but managing it requires a solid understanding to maximise the rewards. You can always consult with financial experts regarding alternative assets so that they can set you in the right direction as well.