In recent years, alternative investment platforms have gained popularity among investors seeking higher yields and new asset classes. These platforms provide access to investments such as real estate, peer-to-peer lending, and venture capital, offering a way to build a diversified portfolio outside of the stock market.
Finding the right alternative investment platform is crucial for maximizing your returns and managing risk. With so many options available, it's important to do your research and choose a platform that aligns with your investment goals and risk tolerance. This article explores some of the best alternative investment platforms to help you make an informed decision.
Quick Look: Best Alt Invest Platforms
- Best for Diverse Range of Offerings: Yieldstreet
- Best for Fractional Real Estate: Arrived Homes
- Best for Artwork: Masterworks
- Best for Real Estate Crowdfunding: CrowdStreet
- Best for Various Investments: Public.com
- Best for Real Estate Notes: Groundfloor
- Best for Wine and Whiskey: Vinovest
Best Alternative Investing Platforms
One of the miracles of the internet is how much smaller it has made the world of investing. Before the internet, if you wanted to make an alternative investment in wine or art, you'd have to have a wine cellar or warehouse to store it in. Then you'd have to arrange security and insurance for the investments. It would literally be a full-time job.
But thanks to the internet, there are now dozens of alternative investment platforms where you can pick and choose what to invest in while someone else does the heavy lifting. Here are some of the top alternative platforms.
Best for Diverse Range of Offerings: Yieldstreet
- Best For:Diverse Range of Alternative InvestmentsVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through Yieldstreet's website
Yieldstreet offers an all-in-one alternative investment platform with offerings for non-accredited investors as well as offerings available to accredited investors only. Yieldstreet regularly has new investment opportunities available, ranging from commercial real estate, art equity funds, structured notes, portfolios of consumer debt and many others.
Even if you're not quite ready to jump into one of Yieldstreet's offerings, it's worth signing up for the platform to gain access to the many webinars and educational content available to learn the ins and outs of various types of alternative investments.
Best for Fractional Real Estate: Arrived Homes
- Best For:$100 Minimum InvestmentVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through Arrived Homes's website
Arrived Homes is one of the newest and fastest-growing crowdfunding platforms on the internet. The company allows non-accredited investors to buy shares in carefully selected rental properties.
The minimum investment is only $100, making it easy to start earning passive income from property investments and to diversify across multiple properties. Investors simply collect quarterly dividends from their properties while waiting for the asset to increase in value over time. Arrived Homes takes care of finding tenants as well as all the management.
Best for Art: Masterworks
This alternative investment platform is based on fine art. It identifies select artists and buys works, which are then registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a regulation A share offering. Investors will then share in the profits when the artwork they've invested in is sold.
Masterworks features works from famous artists both living and dead. It even has works by Banksy — the pseudonym of the England-based Street artist. This is, however, a long-term investment. Unlike investment in real estate, there is no residual income generated by Masterworks investments, and investors must be willing to wait for several years before earning a dividend.
Best for Real Estate Crowdfunding: CrowdStreet
- Best For:Accredited InvestorsVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through CrowdStreet's website
CrowdStreet is a real estate crowdfunding platform that offers investors the chance to purchase equity shares in various real estate investments around the country. It's a great way to get involved in property investing, but you must be an accredited investor to buy into any CrowdStreet offerings. That means only investors who pass a certain net worth threshold are eligible.
If you are accredited, CrowdStreet offers some great investment opportunities with the potential for very high returns. The downside is that the minimum buy-ins are on the high side, and most CrowdStreet investments don't pay dividends for several years.
Best for Various Investments: Public.com
Public.com is a modern investment platform designed to make investing more accessible and engaging for both novice and experienced investors. The platform offers a wide range of investment products, including stocks, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, options and bonds, giving users a variety of ways to build diversified portfolios. One of Public's standout features is its emphasis on transparency and community, allowing users to share ideas, insights, and trades in a social-media-like feed, fostering a collaborative investing environment.
Unlike traditional brokerages, Public.com removes the complexities that can sometimes deter people from investing. With commission-free trading, the platform makes it affordable to invest in a broad range of assets, from individual stocks to crypto. Public is also known for its fractional share investing, which allows users to invest in high-priced stocks with just a few dollars, making even expensive stocks accessible to everyone.
Best for Real Estate Notes: Groundfloor
- Best For:Low Fees and $10 Minimum InvestmentVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through Groundfloor's website
Groundfloor is an alternative real estate investing platform that offers investments in high-yield, short-term property loans. The platform is open to non-accredited investors and private individuals looking for active real estate alternative investments. Groundfloor has great volume with an average of 50-70 investments available at any given time.
Individuals with small portfolios will also like the low $10 minimum investment and zero investor fees. The low minimum investment allows investors to easily diversify their Groundfloor portfolio across multiple loan offerings.
Best for Wine and Whiskey: Vinovest
- Best For:Investing in Wine and WhiskeyVIEW PROS & CONS:securely through Vinovest's website
Vinovest is a platform that's breaking down barriers of the once gatekept world of wine and whiskey investments. They make investing in these assets accessible by providing fully managed portfolios guided by AI and industry experts.
Vinovest manages the entire wine or whiskey investment process, including selecting, acquiring, insuring, securing and storing bottles and casks. Investors can track their wine portfolio online and request shipments or whiskey bottling once maturity is reached. The platform combines expertise from sommeliers, distillers, wine directors, and industry leaders. The goal is to provide investors with access to fine wine and whiskey investments for potential returns and diversification.
eam members and investors. With a minimum investment of $10,000, EquityBee allows you to get in on the ground level today.
What is an Alternative Investment?
Any investment you make in something outside of stocks and bonds is considered an alternative investment. It may sound exotic but in reality, people have been making alternative investments for a long time.
Historically, real estate and gold are two of the most popular alternative investments. You can diversify your portfolio by making alternative investments as supplements to your stocks and bonds, or you can have a portfolio that consists entirely of different alternative investments.
Types of Alternative Investments
As discussed in the section above, real estate and gold are two of the most commonly held alternative investments. With that said, there is a multitude of alternative investments you can make. Here are some of the most popular options:
- Rental or investment properties
- Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum)
- Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Dogecoin
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Startups
- Collectibles such as baseball cards, historical items and rare jewelry
- Wine
- Art
Diversify With Preferred Alternative Investments
Alternative investments may sound like a fancy, New Age concept, but that's far from the truth. In fact, if you own property, you have already made an alternative investment. Many people who see the wisdom of investing, but are put off by the volatility of the stock market, have been gravitating toward alternative investments for quite some time.
With that said, it's important to remember that there is an incredible variety of alternative investments outside of real property or even gold. The rise of internet-based alternative investment platforms has opened up a whole new world to potential investors.
Now you can buy shares of startup companies, wine futures and even sports collectibles as alternative investments. Some have high payoffs and an elevated risk level, while others may require investor accreditation and the ability to wait a long time before earning a dividend.
Other alternative investments have an active secondary market that allows you to liquidate your shares quickly. The variety is nearly limitless. Alternative investments can be a great way to diversify your portfolio, but you still must consider the risks and choose wisely. As always, Benzinga is a great place to go for neutral information on all the pluses and minuses.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between traditional and alternative investments?
Traditional investments, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, have long been the go-to options for investors looking to grow their wealth. Meanwhile, alternative investments encompass a wide range of assets that fall outside the realm of traditional investments. This can include commodities, hedge funds , private equity, and more.
The key difference between traditional and alternative investments lies in the risk-return profile – while traditional investments offer stability, alternative investments provide the opportunity for higher returns but come with increased risk.
What are the best alternative investments?
Some of the best alternative investments include real estate, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, peer-to-peer lending and art. These can provide diversification for a portfolio and the potential for higher returns compared to traditional investments.
Are alternative investments profitable?
Yes, alternative investments can be profitable, but they generate profit in different ways. For example, real estate may generate steady income while wine, watches and collectibles may only generate income when they are sold.
About Eric McConnell
Eric McConnell is an alternative investment writer interested in rare collectibles, fine wines, art and sports memorabilia. He developed his love for sports during his childhood, where in addition to being an aspiring professional baseball player, he was an avid baseball card collector and reader of the Robb Report.
As is the case for many aspiring young sluggers, Eric’s baseball career came to an end the first time he encountered a pitcher capable of throwing 90 mph and a wicked curveball. However, his delight in the finer things of life never waned, and after a career in real estate, Eric branched out into writing, where he joined Benzinga as an alternative investment writer in 2021.
Although he covers breaking news in all areas of alternative investments, Eric’s favorite subjects harken back to his childhood days of reading the Robb Report and collecting baseball cards. He has a passion for writing about fine art sales, whiskey auctions and sports memorabilia.