Crypto, private equity, REITs, sneakers. Alternative asset classes are nothing new, and investors have long treated them as trends (tulip mania, anyone?). But the number of alternative asset classes available to investors is ever-expanding. Thanks to advances in technology and social media, trendy assets can grow hotter and faster than ever before.

This isn’t to say there is anything inherently wrong with alternative asset classes. They can provide a variety of benefits — such as diversification, liquidity or tax benefits — to the right investor. But are investors carefully considering the benefits of these asset classes, or are they getting caught up in the excitement like so many investors before them?

To find out, a recent Morningstar report examined how investors are thinking about investing in trendy alternative assets.

Some 948 investors were surveyed about their knowledge of and reasons for investing in nine different trendy asset classes such as co