Alternative Investments in Portfolio Management

The past decade has seen yields in the US remain stubbornly low. Investment managers are searching for yield and are returning to alternative investment as risk comes back in vogue. Commodities have shown how volatile they can be. Private equity flows are bouncing back as financing returns to the market, and hedge fund assets under management are also increasing; both businesses, however, have been significantly transformed by the credit crisis.

In this interactive course, we examine how alternative investments fit into an overall asset allocation strategy and identify risks that are specific to alternative investments. Attending the course will help you develop a deeper understanding of what drives pricing and risk in alternative investments and make you better equipped to judge how and under what circumstances alternative investments might improve the risk-adjusted performance of your portfolio.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Identify alternative investments
• Describe how alternative investments fit into an overall asset allocation strategy
• Analyze pricing and risks of the different alternative investments
• Discuss risk adjusted returns

Suggested Prerequisites:

• Portfolio Management or equivalent, knowledge of debt and equity markets

Program Level:Intermediate

Advance Preparation: None

Computers and Financial Calculators: N/A

Recommended CPE Credits: 7