3 Of The Weirdest Things You Can Invest In

In a couple recent installments of The Juice, we detailed the ins and outs of private equity investing. You can find links to those stories in today’s Freshly Squeezed section at the bottom of this page.

In the shell of a nut, those Juices focused on how you can be a venture capitalist of sorts by investing in private companies. While seeking these opportunities can be a more than worthwhile endeavor, alternative investing comprises a much larger and broader space.

Without doubt, the wealthiest among us are not only VCs. And whether they are VCs or not, the big money does more than put their capital into startups and other companies that do not trade on the public markets that are (sometimes unequally) accessible to us all. 

As we noted in the aforementioned installments, we’re living through a time where investors have more choice than ever. This isn’t changing anytime soon. In fact, expect the trend to intensify. Within public equity markets, as ETFs and other vehicles expand their creative horizons, and via private market opportunities.

None of this means the playing field is level. It’s not. However, we have taken great strides to making investments once only available to the one percent open to larger numbers of investors. And these investments are often in categories you might not expect. 

For example —

Wine and Whiskey

For the record, The Juice isn’t receiving compensation to mention companies here. We’re merely using examples to illustrate the wide range of opportunities and platforms we find interesting in each area. 

That said, Vinovest gives investors the chance to invest in wine and whiskey.

Some highlights:

• Vinovest says it has more than $100 million in assets under management. 
• With whiskey, the platform gives investors the chance to get in during the stage where whiskey is being aged and bottled at distilleries. Your capital helps fund this process. 
• This process takes about 4-to-8 years, after which you can earn a return. 
• Vinovest says its most recent whiskey exit generated a nearly 31% return. 
• The platform says that its “mission is to deliver 5% to 12% annualized returns by sourcing high-appreciating wines and whiskeys and selling after the 8-year mark.”
• To open an account, Vinovest has a $1,000 minimum. 

Fine art

You picture VCs having art collections, don’t you?

While it might be nice to look at and a status symbol hanging on your wall, it’s not accessible to most of us. However, you can invest in the potential growth of fine art. 

Yieldstreet is one platform that offers fine art investing.

• The firm says that, since 2000, art has outperformed the S&P 500 with a more than 360% return. 
• You need at least $10,000 to get started. 
• Across six art offerings over six years, Yieldstreet Art has produced a net annualized return of 12.2%. 
• The platform has funded more than $400 million worth of fine art investments. 

Collectibles

This place might be the “weirdest” but also one of the coolest. 

The Juice spent way too much time this week on a platform called Rally. After the holiday, we’re going to get in touch with Rally so we can learn more about what they do and how they do it. Because it’s slightly complicated. 

The long and short of it – Rally says that they “source, verify, and acquire the most noteworthy items from collections and individuals all over the world” before they “turn that item into ‘a company’ via regulatory qualification, then split it into equity shares.” 

Interesting. 

Rally has a searchable database where you can invest in collectibles, such as:

• Baseball cards (e.g., a Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card)
• Tech items (e.g., a 2009 iPad prototype or 1983 Steve Jobs jacket (!))
• Classic cars (e.g., a Daniel Arsham x RWB Porsche Slantnose 964 or 1980 Lamborghini Countach)

Sick!!

Rally uses an app for access and says it charges no hidden fees or commissions. And you can get in for as little as $5 a share. 

As we said, The Juice intends to contact the company to learn more. 

The Bottom Line: All of this said, just because it’s available to the public doesn’t mean you should invest in it. The same — or similar — rules that apply to investing in public market equities, such as stocks and ETFs, apply to private opportunities like whiskey, wine, fine art and a mind boggling number of collectible items. You have to make sure the investment makes sense as part of your comprehensive, long-term plan and doesn’t play chicken with your financial security and future. 

Sometimes, all of this choice can be dizzying. That’s why The Juice presents it to you as it is. When we find something interesting, we go deeper in subsequent installments. So, expect a lot more on alternative investing, including word direct from some of the platforms so they can explain exactly what they do. Along the way, we’ll highlight and detail the risks, some obvious and some not so obvious, to ensure neither of us get swept away by the hype. 

With this in mind, please feel free to use the feedback link at the bottom of the page to let us know what you’d like us to cover. And please encourage a friend to subscribe to The Juice for free.

• So You Want To Be A Venture Capitalist?
• How To Invest In Private Equity Even If You’re Not Rich
• Diversify Your Portfolio: Beyond Stocks
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