Fund Structure
Alternative Assets
Investment categories outside traditional stocks and bonds — including venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, real estate, and commodities.
Alternative assets (or 'alts') are investments outside the traditional public market categories of stocks, bonds, and cash. For institutional investors, alternatives include venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, real estate, infrastructure, and commodities. Endowments like Yale and Harvard famously pioneered heavy alternative allocations in the 1980s-90s (the 'Yale Model'), generating substantially better returns than traditional portfolios. Venture capital is considered one of the highest-risk, highest-potential-return segments within alternatives. The illiquidity premium — extra returns for locking up capital for 10+ years — is a key rationale for LP allocations to venture.