Alternative Investments Increase Odds Of Hitting A Home-Run

According to Warren Buffett, "Investing is like baseball. If you want to score runs, don't study the scoreboard, study the playing field." Buffett, arguably one of the most successful investors of the modern era, strongly believes that good and proper research is required before making any financial commitment. In today’s ever-increasing competitive investment marketplace, investors that are “up to bat” should look for a “pitch” (investment) they can “handle” (understand) and then “swing for the fences” (invest for the long haul).

It always helps to know the track record of any investment opportunity as this is always a good indicator as to what could be in store for the future. Nowadays, the playing field can be narrowed down to two major options, traditional investments such as stocks and bonds versus emerging popular alternative strategies like hard assets, which can include precious metals, gemstones and even shipping container investments. In recent years, many investors who took a swing at global stocks and bond markets ended up “striking out” and losing their game while at the same time many other investors ended up “hitting home-runs” with their alternative options.

In the investment world, the playing field has now become more diverse as the old traditional options of the past have finally given way to the more popular alternative investments. These new opportunities have proven in the recent past that they are not only more profitable but also are tangible and even more transparent. Now, when investors are “up to bat” and are looking to make that “home-run” investment, they wait until they see the pitch they are waiting for and then they take a good swing and hit it out of the park. These days, alternative investments are rising in popularity and beating the traditional’s at their own game, with many satisfied investors hitting home-runs with hard assets while investors who keep swinging at traditional options; keep striking out time and again. It reminds this writer of another one of Warren Buffett’s most famous investing quotes when he said, "Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1."