Book description
The investment landscape has changed dramatically over the last few
years, destroying many of the old certainties by which investors lived
their lives. In particular, it has shaken belief in the ability of
traditional asset types such as bonds and equities to protect them from
abnormal market conditions, and it has brought home how closely
correlation between different markets can be squeezed together by
extreme pressure.
Future investors will have to regard so-called
"alternative" assets as essential elements within their
portfolios, and be prepared to deal with the complexities that this
will entail. This will in turn force a re-appraisal of core concepts
such as "risk" and "return", not least because
some alternative asset classes do not lend themselves well to
traditional return measures. Exciting times lie ahead, but a thorough
working knowledge of the various alternative asset classes will be an
essential pre-requisite to success, and perhaps even to survival.
Alternative Assets meets investor's need for a guide on where
to allocate in this new climate. It provides investors with a primer
on each alternative asset class, as well as practical tips on the pros
and cons, implementation, returns analysis, fees and costs. It also
offers introductory guidance on how to set investment targets, and how
alternative assets can be accommodated within the allocation process.
Each chapter gives useful background knowledge on a particular asset
type, including a discussion of whether a satisfactory beta return
level exists and, if so, the different ways in which it might be accessed.
Written by best-selling author Guy Fraser-Sampson, this book guides
investors through the new look alternative investment arena, providing
post-financial crisis perspective and investment advice on the
alternatives landscape.
GUY FRASER-SAMPSON is one of the very few people
in the world to have expertise right across the whole range of
so-called "alternative" assets, including in particular
issues of analysis, access and implementation. He has twenty-five
years' practical experience of different aspects of the subject,
including fund structuring, investment management and returns
analysis. He is also unusual in that to his many years of practical
experience have been added the last few years in an academic setting,
enabling him to gain a whole new dimension on investment matters
generally, not just through teaching and lecturing but also by
supervising various research projects.
Guy's work experience has included a period as Investment Controller
with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and setting up and running
for several years the non-US activities of a leading fund of funds
manager. In addition to his work with funds, he has also conducted
direct, secondary and mezzanine transactions around the world. He is
currently at the forefront of work on identifying sources of beta
return across different asset types, and discussing methods of
accessing these.
Guy teaches post-graduate modules on private equity and investment
strategy at Cass Business School in the City of London, and is also
recogniZed as an authority on all types of alternative assets. He
performs consultancy and high level executive training assignments for
clients around the world, and is also in demand as a provider of
keynote addresses at investment conferences. In addition to various
professional qualifications, he holds an LLB with honours from King's
College London, and an MBA majoring in finance from Warwick Business School.
Guy writes for a number of finance and investment publications,
including his influential monthly column in Real Deals. He is
the author of Multi-Asset Class Investment Strategy, also
published as part of the Wiley Finance series, which questions
accepted views of risk and return, and sets out ways in which
investors could and should incorporate a wide range of so-called
alternative assets into their planned portfolios. He conducts regular
investor workshops around the world based upon his books.
He has won praise for his no-nonsense writing style, which aims to
de-mystify finance and make it accessible to the general reader by
means of explaining the concepts which lie behind it, and the use of
practical everyday examples.
