Alternative Funds

What is Private Debt? Private debt funds typically invest in non-listed debt issues, including bonds, notes, and loans issued by private companies. Private debt has the potential to provide greater returns, control and reduced liquidity, than public markets.  
What is Alternative Credit? Alternative Credit invests in below-investment-grade fixed income sectors that are relatively illiquid. Alternative Credit may not be available to investors for direct investment as individuals but can be accessed through professionally managed traditional mutual funds. 
What is Unconstrained Investing?  Unconstrained Strategies trades securities with few restrictions on when and how they buy and sell. Many unconstrained strategies do set a formal or informal a target for volatility that provides a limitation on the level of risks incurred.
What are Hedged Strategies?  Hedge Strategies (also referred to as alternative strategies) use both long and short positions in markets. Some of the most common strategies are long and short equity, global macro, relative value, and credit. Hedge Strategies appeal to investors who are looking to diversify their investment, in an attempt to minimize market beta returns while seeking alpha and risk-adjusted returns. 
What are Real Assets?  Real Assets typically invest in tangible assets that derive value from their substance and physical presence. These include real estate, public and private infrastructure, natural resources, precious metals and commodities.  
What is Private Equity? Private equity funds typically invest in equity capital that is not publicly available. Instead, the funds take direct ownership in private companies. Private Equity has the potential to provide above-market returns, with greater control, reduced liquidity and greater diversification, than traditional public markets. 
What is Venture Capital? Venture Capital is a form of private equity that investors provide to start-up companies and small business that exhibit high growth potential.  
Correlation is a statistical measure of the relationship between two sets of data. When asset prices move together, they are described as positively correlated; when they move opposite to each other, the correlation is described as negative or inverse. If price movements have no relationship to each other, they are described as uncorrelated.
Hedge is the reduction or elimination of investment risk through the purchase of a complementary financial instrument, such as an option or futures contract.
Unconstrained investing is an investment style that does not require a fund or portfolio manager to adhere to a specific benchmark. Unconstrained investing allows managers to pursue returns across many asset classes and sectors.
Diversification is a risk management strategy that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio. A diversified portfolio contains a mix of distinct asset types and investment vehicles in an attempt at limiting exposure to any single asset or risk.
Long/Short takes both long and short positions buying securities seen as undervalued and selling short others seen as overvalued, in the hope of outperforming the market overall while hedging against possible declines.
Global Macro buys and/or sells financial instruments in anticipation of
a major economic event (such as a shift in interest rates or revaluation of a currency) that resonates across multiple markets. Managers take a “top-down” approach to asset selection, moving from general theories about future events to the selection of specific financial instruments. Global macro funds may experience considerable volatility in the pursuit of their goals and require a relatively high level of risk tolerance.
Event-driven seeks to profit from the outcomes of company or sector specific events that impact security prices. This includes distressed debt strategies which hold bonds from companies that face or have experienced bankruptcy or reorganization; and risk arbitrage strategies which seek to exploit price movements in securities impacted by specific, one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions and/or changes in top management.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are partnerships which invest in commercial and/or residential real estate properties.
Multi-manager invests in multiple managers and strategies (example: “fund of funds” which draw upon multiple hedge fund managers).
Commodities are raw materials and foodstuffs (examples include gold, silver,
wheat, corn and pork bellies) which are typically sold by weight/volume and traded
on public exchanges along with futures contracts for deferred purchases or sales.