Alternative Investments: 16 Unexpected Opportunities for Your Portfolio [2024]

Once you’ve paid down your debt and are contributing enough to your retirement accounts, you can start thinking about other investment opportunities. Building a diversified portfolio could be one of the smartest money moves you can make in your 40’s, and it doesn’t have to be all stocks and bonds. In fact, alternative assets can help diversify your portfolio and potentially help your retirement savings stretch further, though it’s worth noting that investing comes with the risk of loss.

Experts generally recommend allocating no more than 10% of your invested cash towards alternative assets. But you have plenty of choices for how you’ll invest that portion, so you can choose something that aligns with your interests. Here are several ideas to get you started.

Crowdfunded real estate

For the past 30 years, real estate has outperformed the stock market, but until recently, investments in real estate were typically reserved for the wealthy. If you’re wondering how to invest in real estate without millions, crowdfunded real estate investment platforms allow you to invest in multifamily housing properties without having the cash to buy an entire apartment building.

With DiversyFund, for example, you can buy shares of a public, non-traded real estate investment trust, which collects rent on multiple properties and distributes dividends to shareholders. Those dividends are reinvested until the set investment term is up, at which point, assets are sold and investors receive a share of potential profits. With DiversyFund, the term is typically five years. As with any other investment, investments in REITs also come with the risk of loss.