The Switzer Investor Strategy Day was held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during the month of April. Under the banner “Investing for income and growth in the world of Trumpflation”. Industry experts at the Strategy Day were Switzer Report founder, Peter Switzer, CEO of Aitken Investment Management, Charlie Aitken, AMP Capital, John Julian & Rory Shapiro Peters MacGregor Capital Group, Nathan Bell, Contango Asset Management, George Boubouras, Centuria Asset Management, Michael Blake and Investors Central, Managing Director Jamie McGeachie.
The topics presented were:
- What impact will the Trump presidency have on global markets and who will be the winners and losers?
- What can infrastructure Investments offer SMSF trustees in 2017?
- Where to find income and growth at home and offshore?
- Australian Property Trusts, What role can they play in your portfolio?
- How to find reliable franked income streams and long term capital growth
- Investing for Income: An alternative Opportunity
- Are Investment bonds a super alternative?
The opportunity arose after each presentation for discussion and questions to the panel offering the best takeaway ideas for investors from the afternoon sessions.
At the event, McGeachie discussed his views on alternative investments as an important fixture in an investment strategy. As traditional investments are generally linked to the global economy, McGeachie pinpointed alternatives through diversification that do not correlate with existing markets. These can include hedge funds, managed funds, currency, private equity, oil, fine art, and financial derivatives among many others.
McGeachie further discussed the previous lack of access as many alternatives required high entry payments or were unattainable if you had little principal. However, he specifies that the avenues have grown through an emerging opportunity with Peer to Peer Lending. The niche trend of Peer to Peer Lending has turned peers from individuals to institutions. As alternative investment can offer a low correlation with stocks and bonds, potential to increase long-term returns, and possible lower transaction costs, however, it can also be less liquid, values of commodities may be volatile, and performance can be difficult to gauge.
It is of high importance that as a potential investor you research the product on offer . You must do your homework before deciding which methods of alternative investing are right for you. Focus on investments that have the greatest level of negative correlation to your current portfolio. Also factor in your investment timeframes – are you looking for long-term or short-term returns?
Further, McGeachie presented Investors Central and Finance One to the audience as an alternative investment offering High Yield Monthly Returns with no fees or charges as opposed to traditional routes along with a brief, up-to-date performance report on how the companies are travelling in today’s market.
There is an ever-growing range of alternative investment options available to ordinary investors, and their strategic use within your investment portfolio could provide you with both a healthy long-term return and a measure of protection against the effects of a bear market. A video of Jamie McGeachie’s presentation on Alternative Investments can be viewed here and you can download the Investors Central Prospectus by following the links.
