Alternative investments through private markets and hedge funds
Why investors look to allocate to alternative investments
Alternative asset classes can be incorporated into a wide range of investment strategies, styles and risk profiles. This gives you many options to build a portfolio to suit your investment needs — whether you’re looking for new sources of returns or simply want to diversify away from traditional listed equities and bonds.
Alternative investments provide an opportunity to guard against the volatility of equities, hedge against inflation, and achieve better returns. Hedge funds can provide a great way to diversify out of equities without sacrificing returns. Private equity investments aim to attain a significantly higher rate of return than publicly traded equities. Real assets, such as infrastructure and real estate, seek to provide similar benefits alongside a measure of protection against inflation. The impact investing market offers diverse and viable opportunities for investors to advance social and environmental solutions through investments that also produce financial returns. Our global scale and resources can help you access all types of alternative investments, tailored to your needs.
Types of alternative investments
Private markets
Hedge funds
Benefits of alternative investments
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New ideas, innovation and diversification
With moderate correlation to traditional asset classes, alternatives can diversify your portfolio and introduce new innovative ideas and strategies. -
Potential for better returns
Alternative investments offer a different return profile for an institutional portfolio. They tend to have low correlation to stocks and bond markets, adding diversification or hedging against market downturns. -
Integrate ESG, DEI and impact
There are a growing number of sustainable investing strategies in private markets. These offer the potential for you to address your business objectives and develop a holistic plan that seeks to reduce risk while maximising returns.
Three considerations for alternative investments
Integrating alternative investments into your portfolio
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Access manager research
MercerInsight®, an alliance with eVestment, provides access to insights and analytics on more than 6,700 managers and 35,000 strategies1. Get MercerInsight®. -
Seek advice
We can provide guidance and advice on your alternatives strategy, alongside access to our global manager research network. We'll help you build your portfolio. Contact us today. -
Implement a solution
We can help you design and implement an investment plan to suit your needs and complement your strengths. Our offering includes our fully outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) or fiduciary management services. Discover our solutions.
It's all here: MercerInsight® Community
Alternative investment strategies
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Co-investments
Co-investments have the potential to deliver greater diversification, lower fees and higher net returns and, provide a more tailored exposure set. -
Impact investing
Impact investments have the potential to help you find an optimal balance between making a positive change and delivering better returns. -
Infrastructure
Infrastructure investments have the potential to deliver greater diversification, inflation protection and longer-term sustainability. -
Private debt and credit
Private debt strategies have the potential to deliver a higher-yield than listed bonds and retain the potential for capital growth. -
Private equity
Private equity strategies leverage opportunities from the vast number of companies listed under private ownership. -
Real-estate
Investing in real-estate is linked to important sectors of the real economy, including long-term trends such as population shifts.
Our alternative investments approach can flex to suit you
- 1 Client-centric flexible approach
- 2 Extensive research platform
- 3 Global reach, local resources
Our experience in alternative investments
US$164 billion in global alternatives assets under advisement
US$26 billion in global alternatives under management
240 alternatives professionals
30 years' experience in private markets
27 offices globally
Introducing some of our team
We're here to help you accomplish your investment goals
- 30 June 2022,
- 30 June 2022,
- 30 June 2022,
- 30 June 2022 and
- 30 June 2022.
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