The technology likely to have the greatest impact on the next few decades has arrived, and it is not social media, big data or robotics. It is not even artificial intelligence. You will be surprised to learn that it is the underlying technology of digital currencies like Bitcoin. It is called the “blockchain.”

As one economist put it: We are living in the “axis of upheaval” where social, political and economic risk collide at the same time. Volatility and risk are at record highs as investors face a paralyzing choice between high-risk equities and low-yield bonds. It is no wonder that professional investors such as Bill Gross, Mohammad El Erian, Sam Zell, Ray Dalio and other hedge fund and money managers are increasing their allocation to cash. 

Four years ago, the board of Institutional Real Estate, Inc. made a strategic decision to branch out to serve a broader market — the professionals advising the individual investor marketplace.

Research such as that outlined by Casey, Quirk & Associates and Merrill Lynch & Co. in their landmark study, The Brave New World: Winning Product Strategies for a Changing Global Market, built an almost irrefutably strong case for including alternatives in the portfolios of institutional and individual investors, alike. This was particularly true in the low-return, higher-risk environment that was emerging at the time, which, the report argued, was undermining the effectiveness of the long-held, traditional 60 percent equities/40 percent fixed-income allocations to which most investors and advisers had become accustomed.

2016 will be etched in time as one of the most unpredictable and metamorphic years in our planet’s history. While every fragment of civilization will feel the effects of 2016, the year will leave an indelible imprint on financial services, global political landscapes and mass media for generations to come.

One thing is coming through loud and clear from PwC’s and the Urban Land Institute’s 2017 Emerging Trends in Real Estate survey for the United States and Canada: You can find opportunities in any of the markets, whether it is No. 1–ranked Austin or No. 78 Buffalo, N.Y. It all comes down to strategy, risk tolerance, return requirements and access to deals.

Although America’s airports serve more travelers than anywhere else in the world, many are handling far more passengers than their original designs intended.

Not a single U.S. airport was ranked in the top 25 in the world, and worse still, our largest and most important airports in cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles scrape the very bottom in terms of customer satisfaction.

An increasing number of Fortune 500 companies are emerging as major customers of the U.S. clean energy industry, according to a report released from the American Wind Energy Association.

“In recent years Fortune 500 companies have led an intense search for the best ways to buy more clean energy,” says Tom Kiernan, CEO of the organization.

Many Americans are unaware about the impending global agricultural war between the United States and Asian markets that will likely put many U.S. farmers out of business and send food commodities prices spiraling down as early as 2017.

The U.S. Congress created the EB-5 program in 1990 to enable high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a U.S. visa by investing in a U.S. business in a manner that will benefit the economy by creating jobs. To qualify under the EB-5 program, the foreign investor must invest $1 million in a qualified new commercial business. That amount is reduced to $500,000 if the new commercial business is located in an area with high unemployment. Each investor must also create 10 or more permanent U.S. jobs through his or her investment. 

The solar industry is no longer the bastion of environmental interests and pilot project developers. The industry has matured to the degree that mainstream financial institutions, ranging from institutional investors to traditional private equity infrastructure investors, have started to place substantial amounts of capital in this increasingly attractive sector. While investment in the sector remains strong, the sector is not without its complexities. For investors to better understand the solar finance landscape, here are five key trends shaping the industry.

Commercial real estate has had an almost uninterrupted run of increasing values since bottoming in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2010. Acquisition yields have persisted at historical lows for several quarters, and many question how long the asset class can remain priced to perfection.