Every investor who has the stock market for a long time has certainly had some large successes and some significant losses. Anyone who is nearing retirement or has already retired has felt the pain of watching their portfolio decline, often dramatically. One of the key reasons investors seek alternative investments is to diversify their portfolios. Many investors are discovered with private alternatives as a method to diversify their portfolios and hedge against volatility. As a result, if the stock market falls sharply, they will have a hedge of protection, and their whole investment portfolio will be unaffected. Even in a stable economy, the stock market is notoriously unstable, and alternatives are mostly immune to the public markets’ volatility.

What you’re getting in most public investments is a paper asset — the discounted value of future projected earnings. You don’t actually have any possessions. Even after investment in REIT, you’re still a long way from having your name on the real estate property’s deed. When you purchase excellent wine or art, you are purchasing the bottles of wine or the oil painting directly. If you purchase a rental property, you own it outright. You have a lien on a property if you acquire a mortgage note.

Alternative investments might potentially offer significant tax advantages. Because of the structure of many alternative investments, you get to keep more of your profit. You should be a part of the fund or syndicate in many private alternative investments, and the tax benefits are passed on to you directly. Pass-through depreciation and long-term capital gains treatment are the two most major tax benefits. Depreciation expenditure (a non-cash expense) is deducted from net income by many real estate funds or syndications, lowering taxable income. Depreciation/depletion tax treatment for oil and gas assets is quite advantageous.

After going through the factors and elements of AIF, it will help you understand the benefits of investment and planning on the fund.