Investment being a very commonly heard term nowadays, every one knows some thing or the other about the basic points of investment. But what we all get to hear frequently is the investment in the trading market, or investing in stocks. mutual funds or bonds. But to the folks who never heard of it before, here is a shocker. All investments need not be limited to stocks, bonds and mutual funds. There are investment options beyond this trinity too. You just need to know about them that is all.

The investment options which are beyond these 3 options of stocks, bonds and funds are all grouped under a broad category of investment options, and known collectively as the alternative investment options. The study and research of the financial market has shown startling results that in spite of so much of effort and popularity of these stocks, bonds and the funds, the investment returns on these 3 are just average, even if you consider the long term results. More over as is very well known, these investment options are not only giving you only average results, but are subject to pr affected by a variety of factors, which may be financial like the recessions, fluctuating currency values and non financial too like the wars, instability of the government etc. So that leaves the investor in not a very advantageous position.

This is where the alternative investment options come in. There are several alternative investment options available to the individual and the business investors. So taking an over view of the alternative investment strategies will be helpful in understanding more about them.

The alternative investment options are many. One of them is the real estate or property market. For people who are not comfortable with the stocks, bonds and the funds, the real estate option is by far a better option. The real estate or the property market is quite extensive and being less volatile than the other markets, can be easily invested in. The real estate market is also helpful, because even non professional investors also seem to understand the basics better, than the complex factors involved in the financial trading market.

Another option is to invest in the hedge funds. These hedge funds can be either short term or even long term. The alternative investment strategies are quite different to the investment strategies of the other investment plans. What ever the type of investment you are looking for, the advice of a professional should always help.