Private investors have populated their investment portfolios with stocks and bonds since the time that private investment began. These are asset classes investors understand, and they are easily accessed. But in today’s investment climate, concentrating on just two asset classes might not diversify a portfolio enough to withstand future economic shocks. Hence, alternatives, such as real assets, are attracting greater attention from investors and advisers alike. 

A little more than five years ago, a self-directed IRA expert named Jim Jones reached out to me through LinkedIn to discuss the value proposition of the self-directed IRA — a retirement vehicle that gives individual investors greater control of their retirement capital and the freedom to invest beyond conventional asset classes and into coveted alternative investment products.

Google, a huge corporate purchaser of renewable energy, announced Dec. 6 that it will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy by the end of 2017, closing the book on a series of commitments first made in 2007 to transform how the company approaches sustainable business.

Much of the focus of the apartment industry today is on serving the growing millennial market — primarily single residents between the ages of 18 and 34. Certainly, considerable demand exists in this market niche. But the investment community as a whole is largely ignoring a tremendous opportunity: the demand for large, family apartment units.

Infrastructure was at the heart of President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plan, yet his approach to infrastructure is not well known. Prudent innovation is the cornerstone of his approach, and he has taken some of the most innovative bipartisan ideas for infrastructure financing and moved them from the periphery to center stage.

2016 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Pension Protection Act, landmark legislation that allowed auto enrollment and the use of target-date or risk-based funds as default investments in DC (defined contribution) plans. As we look to the future of DC plans in America, it is helpful to consider the world’s most established DC system — Australia’s.

Crowdfunding is destined to become one of the finance and investment terms of a decade. Don’t let it wear thin on you, because it is only beginning to pick up momentum. There are already innumerable crowdfunding platforms in the United States, not to mention about 2,000 in China and hundreds in Europe.

The fourth annual Institutional Real Estate Allocations Monitor, from Hodes Weill & Associates and Cornell University’s Baker Program in Real Estate, shows investors around the world are continuing to raise their target allocations to real estate and are on track to break the 10 percent barrier next year, but at the same time they are still significantly under-invested against their targets. The extent of the under-investment varies by region.

What a difference a year makes. January 2016, the Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) was at a 14-year low and most investors had dismissed the asset class over concerns of massive oversupply conditions, the China slowdown and looming deflation risks in Europe and Japan. But as commodities rallied, investors have started to dip back in. China’s economy and commodity consumption seem to be stabilizing, inflation is back on the radar (especially since the election), and — most importantly — the supply-demand commodity imbalance is improving across a broad swath of the market. 

Ten months ago our family office made a decision to become part of the family office community. During that time I have had the chance to attend nine different conferences put on by seven different conference organizers and had the chance to meet close to 300 families. By going through this process I have learned a number of things, the most important — and it makes 100 percent sense to me — being that there is a major family office trend toward direct investing in lieu of investing in funds.

As companies have restructured their global supply chains in response to e-commerce and changing consumption patterns, distribution and fulfillment centers have become more sophisticated than ever. A box is no longer just a box — and some properties are better positioned, and better built, than others for future users.