Portfolio Discussions

Alternatives: Solving for alpha, income, and diversification

Use three Guide to Alternatives slides to support client conversations on the opportunities in alternatives.

Adding alternatives may help optimize risk/return 

Public asset classes are facing challenges from elevated valuations, low real yields and positive correlation. For those willing to venture outside a traditional stock-bond allocation, adding a sleeve of alternatives may help enhance returns and reduce volatility. However, different alternatives play different roles in portfolios. Investors should first identifying their goal, then invest in the alternative asset class with the attributes to achieve it.

Exhibit 1: Alternatives and portfolio risk/return

Annualized volatility and returns, 1Q90 – 2Q24

Graph shows risk-return performance of portfolios with various allocations of equities, bonds and alternatives.

Exhibit 1 source: Bloomberg, Burgiss, HFRI, NCREIF, Standard & Poor’s, FactSet, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Alts include hedge funds, real estate, and private equity, with each receiving an equal weight. Portfolios are rebalanced at the start of the year. Equities are represented by the S&P 500 Total Return Index. Bonds are represented by the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Total Return Index. Volatility calculated as the annualized standard deviation of quarterly returns. Data are based on availability as of November 30, 2024. Guide to Alternatives, page 7.

Investors are seeking alpha, income and diversification

In general, alternatives can enhance return potential, increase income or provide diversification, depending on which asset class is selected. For instance, private equity may enhance returns, but may not prioritize income or diversification. Real assets, like real estate and infrastructure, on the other hand, exhibit low or negative correlation to a 60/40 portfolio and often provide stable income and inflation protection.

Exhibit 2: Correlations, returns and yields

10-year correlations and 10-year annualized total returns, quarterly, 3Q14 - 2Q24

Varying-sized bubbles representing different alternative asset classes plotted by performance of yields, returns and public market correlations.

Exhibit 2 source: Burgiss, Cliffwater, FactSet, Gilberto-Levy, HFRI, MSCI, NCREIF, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. *CML is commercial mortgage loans. 60/40 portfolio is 60% stocks (S&P 500 TR Index) and 40% bonds (Bloomberg U.S. Agg. TR Index). Data are based on availability as of November 30, 2024. Guide to Alternatives, page 8.

Manager selection is critical

The performance difference between top and bottom managers compounds over time and can impact long-term returns sizably. Manager dispersion is particularly acute in private markets, which are newer and have a wide range of investing approaches. To unlock the return-enhancing potential of alternatives, investors must select an effective manager.

Exhibit 3: Public and private manager dispersion

Based on returns over a 10-year window (%)*

Bar chart shows top quartile, median and bottom quartile manager returns over a 10-year period in multiple asset classes.

Exhibit 3 source: Burgiss, Morningstar, NCREIF, PivotalPath, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. *Manager dispersion is based on annual returns over a 10-year period ending 3Q 2024 for Hedge Funds, U.S. Core Real Estate, Global Large Cap Equities and Global Bond. U.S. Non-core Real Estate, Global Private Equity and Global Venture Capital are represented by the 10-year internal rate of return (IRR) ending 2Q 2024. Guide to Alternatives, page 9.

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