Equity investors have struggled to make a buck in 2022, the S&P 500 and FTSE 250 are down more than 15% for the year with the FTSE 100 only buoyed by its oil and gas constituents.
Cryptocurrency, the so-called future of investing, has fared even worse with bitcoin and ethereum are down 63% and 67% respectively – undermined by the collapse of the FTX.
So-called alternative investments have been touted to route to give decent returns, but as we found out it requires specialist knowledge and hard work
Enquiry volumes soared following ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget, according to Elite Wines and Whisky but anyone looking for super-returns would have been disappointed.
Springbank was the best performing distillery in 2022 with its bottles growing in value over by 10 years by 482% and by 9% over 2022, indices by website rare whisky 101 found.
Popular distiller Glenfiddich’s whiskies have risen by 114% since 2012, but the past year saw demand fall as value decreased by 1.1%.
Whilst the potential returns are huge investors often hold for decades and pay high purchase fees, the average price of a whisky bottle in 2021 was US$588.
Whisky is also a physical good that could smash, be stolen or worst of all be drunken unknowingly.
‘Hype beast’ culture propelled brands like Nike and Adidas to new heights, teens made a pretty penny with people even queuing outside of stores to purchase trending shoes before they sell out.
Trainers become a viable investment when they are no longer available from retailers, shoemakers like Nike will often release sneakers for a limited time only or at a one off ‘drop’.
Sites like stockx, touted the stock exchange for trainers, allows sneakerheads to track prices, sell and buy rare shoes.
Buyers often hold shoes short term with only a few classics growing in price over time.
If you got your hands on a rare pair of Nike dunks retailed at US$100 in March 2022, selling would net around a 200% gain.
When Louis Vuitton and Nike collaborated earlier this year the shoes tripled in price after selling out.
The investment does require active participation, often the latest shoes are sold only in person or will sell out extremely fast online- there is not much value in trading shoes from other sellers.
Instability consumed 2022 but forestry assets offer stability.
Owning free hold land to grow commercial timber on has averaged returns of 13.8% per annum, asset manager Gresham House revealed.
“The asset is 100% sustainable, for every tree harvested two or 3 more are planted” the company added.
UK forestry provided the greatest annualised 10-year return of any typical investment whilst remaining the least volatile, research by UK annual forestry index found.
Purchasing forests can range from £250k to £5mln dependent on hectares, for investors with less capital asset managers like Gresham House offer funds starting at a required £100k buy-in.
So, yes, some alternatives have done well enough compared stock markets but unless you really know your Jordans from your Offwhite’s the old adage of investing being for the long term still applies.