Embracing the Alternatives:Embracing the Alternatives:

Alternative investments (such as hedge funds, real estate, commodities, currencies and managed futures) are becoming more and more mainstream. Even consumer finance/investing magazines detail the advantages of these types of investments to potentially mitigate risk and boost portfolio returns. And based on our latest AdvisorBenchmarking research, you are increasingly turning to alternatives to provide your clients with better performance and a wider variety of investment options.

Advisors have turned to alternative investments for a variety of reasons—looking for different investment techniques (40%), seeking absolute returns (38%), filling portfolio allocations (29%), addressing portfolio correlations (28%) and seeking unique vehicle str...