Tag Archives: AAA

Business

AAA welcomes New on Institutional investors’ interest in Alternatives

Leave a comment

Figures suggest that over a quarter of all searches carried out by institutional investors, relating to new mandates, are expected to be looking for alternative investments.

Boston, MA, March 30, 2012 – According to new figures from a survey carried out by eVestment Alliance in the US, over a quarter of all searches carried out by institutional investors, relating to new mandates, are expected to be looking for alternative investments. The news has been welcomed by alternative investment advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), which supports many forms of alternative investments.

eVestment’s Casey Quirk spoke to some 30 investment consultants between December 2011 and January 2012 and found that those surveyed predicted that the alternative sector will be the most popular search category for institutional investors.

“This news is very welcome from our perspective as it illustrates the fact that alternatives are becoming increasingly attractive to institutional investors, as well as individuals, as a way to diversify the risk in a portfolio,” stated AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson.

The survey found that consultants expect alternative managers to be the subject of more than a quarter of searches carried out by institutional investors looking for new investments. The next two most frequently expected searches were domestic an international equities, which are expected to attract 19 per cent and 14 per cent of searches respectively.

AAA claims that the results show that the popularity of alternative asset classes, such as real estate, hedge funds and private equity, is continuing to grow as a result of the volatile equity markets. “Alternatives, such as hedge funds and real estate, as well as more left field alternatives, such as art, antiques, gold, forestry and even wine, are proving to be much more popular as here is evidence to show they are often outperforming equities in the current economic climate.”

AAA supports a range of alternative and ethical investments and concentrates much of its focus on environmentally responsible sustainable forestry investment, such as the plantation projects run by firms like Greenwood Management in Brazil ,Canada and elsewhere.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

College Impact investing challenge welcomed by AAA

Leave a comment

Highlighting the popularity of alternative investments is this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge at Northwestern University and the University of California, which has been welcomed by AAA.

Boston, MA, March 23, 2012 – Highlighting the popularity of alternative investments and impact investing is this year’s International Impact Investing Challenge at Northwestern University and the University of California, which has been welcomed by Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The challenge, run by the universities’ business schools, sponsors some of their brightest and best financial minds to make ethical and profitable impact investing decisions, which will help onlookers to realise the benefits of this approach, according to AAA.

One of the schools involved is the Kellogg School of Management, whose associate director, Jamie Jones, said, “Now in its second year, the International Impact Investing Challenge encourages students from graduate schools around the world to identify strategies that create solutions for global social issues – as well as deliver financial returns.”

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson added, “This sums up impact investing very well because making an ethical choice, that will make a difference to people in the developing world, does not have to come at financial price. Positives social impact and healthy returns are by no means mutually exclusive and we’re glad that initiatives like this are helping to spread the word.”

Some of the ideas that the teams came up with last year included dealing with food shortages in India and developing clean power for larger, established economies, like the US. More and more people are realising that their cash can help facilitate environmental or social change, while making them more profit than it would sitting in a savings account, explained AAA.

AAA is an alternative investment advocacy group that also supports impact investment in developing economies around the world. It supports environmentally responsible investment projects such as the plantation schemes run by firms like Greenwood Management in Brazil. “These schemes help to increase plantation timber, which in turn, helps to reduce the reliance on natural forests,” added Johnson.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA Reports: Pension Funds Quadruple Exposure to Alternatives

Leave a comment

Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has pointed out that the largest pension markets in the world have notably increased their exposure to alternative investments in recent years.

Boston, MA, USA, March 23, 2012 — Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has pointed out that the largest pension markets in the world have notably increased their exposure to alternative investments in recent years.

Analysis from Spence Johnson, the market intelligence firm, found that the top seven pension markets in the world increased their exposure to assets such as hedge funds, private equity and real estate, by 400 per cent between 2001 and 2011.

“This shows that the attitudes of institutional investors are moving with the times,” explained AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson. He added, “It’s not just individual investors who are keen to diversify their portfolios to help protect their investments against risk.

“Indeed during these economically volatile times, more and more pension funds are increasing their alternative investments and edging away from more traditional investments, like equities.”

However, there is still a way to go before defined contribution schemes view alternatives in the same way as other traditional investments, claim analysts. Spence Johnson found that only around $1.7 billion of DC funds are invested in alternatives, compared with $450 billion that is invested elsewhere.

The figures do, however, show that it is the defined benefit schemes that prefer alternatives, with a much higher interest in less traditional investments than defined contribution pensions. Analysts claim that this is because defined benefit schemes are invested by experienced professionals, rather than the average “man on the street”, and alternatives are, therefore, likely to be a preferred option.

AAA supports many kinds of alternative investments, and focuses on promoting ethical choices, such as sustainable forestry and timberland investment through scheme such as that run by Greenwood Management in Brazil.

Mr Johnson added, “it’s becoming easier and easier to promote alternative asset classes as the experts know the benefits, as these latest pension figures clearly illustrate. Sometimes we feel we are preaching to the converted.”

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA agrees that 2012 could be a Great year for Wine investment

Leave a comment

vAn interview with UK-based wine investment fund, Vin-X’s founder and director, Peter Shakeshaft in myfinances.co.uk has underlined the benefits of investing in wine in the current economic climate, claims AAA.

Boston, MA, March 16, 2012 – An interview with UK-based wine investment fund, Vin-X’s founder and director, Peter Shakeshaft in myfinances.co.uk has underlined the benefits of investing in wine in the current economic climate, claims Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

AAA is an alternative investment advocacy group that supports many kinds of alternative investments, including ethical and impact investing. It’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, said, “many more investors are looking to alternative assets these days thanks to the volatility of the stock markets. Alternatives such as forestry, wine, art, commodities, currencies and real estate are attractive to those who want to spread the risk in their portfolios and protect against the impact of macro economic factors,” he explained.

Mr Shakeshaft said that investing in wine is a new market and that those who are new to this market will benefit from “dipping their toe” and beginning with investments of around £1,000 to £3,000 to increase their knowledge of the asset class and the market. He went on to add that 2012 could be the best year for investing in wine since 1993. He told myfinances.co.uk: “One reason [that 2012 could be a good year for investment] is that in 2011, the market had only its third price correction in 25 years.

“This means there are some superb opportunities in the market at the moment,” he added.

He also talked about how the consumption of wine in the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) is also adding to the value of some high-end wines. He went on to add that the entry level for investment is from around £1,000 and that returns are typically in double digits.

Another popular alternative that has similar entry requirements and returns is forestry investment. Investing in timber, through schemes such as those run by Greenwood Management in Brazil, can offer investors a tangible asset for which demand is growing rapidly, said AAA.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

Brazil is a great place to invest, claims AAA

Leave a comment

The news that the Brazilian economy has started to outperform many others, including the UK’s, has acted as a prompt for many to start looking for ways to invest in the growing country, according to AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, March 13, 2012 — The news that the Brazilian economy has started to outperform many others, including the UK’s, has acted as a prompt for many to start looking for ways to invest in the growing country, according to Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

AAA, an alternative investment advocacy firm, has always seen Brazil as a great place to invest in commodities, such as timber, and in ethical and social funds, through impact investing routes. However, the world is expected to start investing cash in Brazil in droves thanks to the latest figures from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).

Over the past ten years, the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, otherwise known as the BRIC region, have offered a comparatively safe haven for investors keen to avoid investing in the volatile markets in the US and Europe.

Now, the figures show that this is even more the case as Brazil’s economy is officially the sixth largest in the world, leaving the UK in its wake. Analyst at the CEBR claim that within a few years, Brazil’s economy will be stronger than that of France and Germany, climbing further up the ranking of the world’s great economic super powers.

“Although last year’s 2.7 per cent growth wasn’t enormous, in the grand scale of things, Brazil continues to grow economically when many other top economies are still teetering on the edge of recession” explained AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson.

He added, “There has rarely been a better time to invest in emerging economies and investors who want to diversify their portfolios could not do better than investing in sustainable forestry in Brazil.

“We support the plantation projects bin run by firms like Greenwood Management, who are offering a unique and low-entry route into Brazilian investment, with an ethical edge.”

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

Buy Real estate in Brazil, says AAA

Leave a comment

AAA is urging alternative investors to consider buying up real estate in Brazil, as it offers many opportunities for those who want to buy a tangible asset in a growth region.

Boston, MA, March 07, 2012 – Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) is urging alternative investors to consider buying up real estate in Brazil, as it offers many opportunities for those who want to buy a tangible asset in a growth region.

Brazil, being one of the largest countries in the world, is not short of space and beautiful property. The nation, AAA points out, has also enjoyed major economic growth in recent years, meaning that many in its population have new wealth and a new appetite for real estate as a result. “This is a great time to buy up property in Brazil,” claimed AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson.

He added, “There is an abundance of property in the coastal regions, and in Rio and Sao Paulo, that all offer a decent investment opportunity for anyone looking to diversify their investment portfolios with a tangible asset class that is less correlated with the equity markets.”

There are several steps that foreigners need to take before buying up Brazilian property, added AAA. These include getting hold of a Brazilian tax registration card, which can be obtained by joining a local Brazilian consulate and having documentation, such as birth certificates, translated into Portuguese. Mr Johnson also warns that it can take up to two months to establish a post office box in Brazil, which is necessary as the card will need to be posted there.

Using a local broker, who speaks English, can be useful to ensure you don’t miss an important element of the transaction process and can also help in sniffing out some of the best deals to be had, added Johnson.

AAA is an alternative investment advocacy group that supports alternative and ethical investments, including sustainable forestry projects in Brazil, such as those run by Greenwood Management. These projects allow foreigners to buy up sections of plantation land for as little as $10,000.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

The Guardian and AAA back Oikocredit impact investment fund

Leave a comment

A fund offering investors 2 per cent returns on ethical, socially responsible investment projects has won backing from The Guardian and AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, March 06, 2012 — A fund offering investors 2 per cent returns on ethical, socially responsible investment projects has won backing from The Guardian and Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The newspaper and the alternative investment advocacy group are both supporting the Oikocredit investment fund, which is based in the Netherlands and provides small loans to help people living in developing countries. A recent article in the broadsheet explained that Oikocredit was first launched as a faith-based fund back in 1975, but that its roots do not affect the investment decisions it makes.

The fund started off facilitating churches’ loans to marginalised people in developing countries. It now offers “life changing” loans to projects and people in countries including Uganda and the Ivory Coast. One of the projects it has helped is the Cocovico women’s market, which was set up in 2008 by a group of village women in order to help them sell their produce without paying the fees charged by other markets.

Investors can expect a modest annual return a well as the knowledge that their cash is helping to change lives of vulnerable people all over the world. AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson said, “We fully support these kinds of small-scale loan projects in the developing world as the model has worked so well for so many people.”

“Many entrepreneurs and small businesses owners in less economically and politically sound countries have no access to finance at all, and therefore, their ideas and business often fall at the first hurdle. Impact investing project such as these truly create a win-win situation.”

AAA is an advocacy and research organisation that promotes ethical and alternative investments of many kinds. Not least investment in forestry as both a profitable and ethically sound option. An example is the sustainable plantation projects run by Greenwood Management in Brazil.

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA welcome Emerald Knight Director’s support of Ethical investments

Leave a comment

AAA has welcomed support for ethical investments from the director of Emerald Knight, Robert Hague.

Boston, MA, March 02, 2012 – Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA) has welcomed support for ethical investments from the director of Emerald Knight, Robert Hague.

The alternative investment advocacy group has spoken out in support of Mr Hague’s assertions that just because an asset class is ethical, does not mean it won’t produce some very healthy yields for investors.

Emerald Knight was initially launched as a provider of ethical investments with the ethos that investing in sustainable, ethical projects can also generate healthy returns. Mr Hague stands by this claim in his recent statement to the press, where he said, “This may sound obvious but many people don’t know, or are just not interested in what happens to their money once they’ve put it in their bank or pension.

“Going down the SRI route allows you to choose exactly how your cash is being invested and what difference it’s making,” he added.

He added that many of those who have invested in ethically, environmentally or socially responsible funds, projects or markets have often see their investment generate better returns that if they had invested in traditional asset classes.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, agrees with Mr Hague, adding, “There is simply no validity in the argument that you can’t make money by investing in ethical projects or making socially responsible investments.”

AAA claims that it is no longer unusual for investors to look for ethical investments as, with the increase in interest in alternative investments, there has also been a general increase in interest in ethical options as the two things often come hand in hand.

A popular option for ethically minded investors is forestry investment, which can help to support sustainable approaches to forestry all over the world, and particularly in emerging economies. Projects such as Greenwood Management’s plantations schemes in Brazil are popular with individual investors and institutions alike as they only require minimum investments of around $10,000.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

AAA: Venezuelans flock to invest in Miami real estate

Leave a comment

The real estate market in Florida is booming in response to major demand from cash-rich alternative investors from Latin America, according to alternative investment advocacy group, AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, February 29, 2012 — The real estate market in Florida is booming in response to major demand from cash-rich alternative investors from Latin America, according to alternative investment advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

AAA has responded to a report in propertywire.com, which shows that investors from Venezuela have been buying up property in Miami in droves. The Miami Association of Realtors claim that 15 per cent of all international property sales in Miami last year were to people from Venezuela, who have cash to spend and are eager to get their hands on lucrative and tangible investments.

Despite the ongoing slump in the US economy and, indeed, the Florida housing market, developers have started working again to feed the demand from the rich Latin Americans looking to buy bricks and mortar in the US state.

Jorge Perez from one of the leading developers in the region, Related Group, told Propertywire.com, “Latin America has really helped to breathe new life into our market.”

The trend for Venezuelans investing in the US housing market is thought to stem from the concerns they have about a possible forthcoming crackdown on such investments at home from leftist President Huge Chavez.

“The US housing market is the winner in this scenario,” explained AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson. He added, “It’s not difficult to see why the investors are putting their cash into real estate at a time when the equity markets are far less attractive, along with several other forms of traditional investment.”

However, AAA was keen to point out that there are some investment schemes that are even closer to home, such as the forestry plantation investment schemes run by Greenwood Management in Brazil. Brazil, like Venezuela, has seen an improvement in its fortunes in recent years. As a result, the demand for charcoal or the growing steel industry is enormous and lucrative for those invested in non-native sustainable plantations.

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

Business

Huffington Post Blog advocates Impact investment says AAA

Leave a comment

Alternative investment advocacy group AAA says that a recent blog in the Huffington Post offers a great endorsement of impact investing.

Boston, MA, February 23, 2012 – Alternative investment advocacy group, Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA), says that a recent blog in the Huffington Post offers a great endorsement of impact investing.

It explains how impact investment funds have an ethos of “doing good while doing well”, which highlights the fact that making profits and choosing ethical investments are not mutually exclusive.

The Huffington post blog explains that impact investing combines investment in projects that contribute to social and environmental good, and investing for maximum risk-adjusted returns. Although this is a somewhat unusual combination, it often works and is increasing in popularity among those who want to make a difference while making money.

AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, said, “It’s really quite unbelievable that this kind of investment option is only just taking off.

“The model is quite simple, those with money to invest help those without money to make money by providing funding and the profits are then shared.”

Examples include housing projects, forestry projects, small loans for small businesses and farm investments. Most of these funds are setup in developing countries and most investors come from developed countries.

The level of return on impact investment funds differs dramatically but many investors put the social impact of a fund ahead of financial gains, in a refreshing turnaround to the norm.

“It’s not just small-time investors that are getting into impact investing,” said Mr Johnson. “Many of the world’s richest philanthropists are ploughing their money into socially and environmentally responsible projects.” An example is the $3 billion Rockerfeller Foundation. Bill Clinton is also a keen advocate of impact investment.

AAA supports ethical investment in many different forms. It advocates investing in environmentally friendly projects, such as sustainable forestry, through schemes like the teak, eucalyptus and other non-native tree plantations run by Greenwood Management in Brazil. “These projects offer a tangible option for smaller-scale investor,” added Johnson.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com