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I’ve noticed a flurry of articles recently about how investors, including nearing or in the Retirement Risk Zone, might consider moving beyond the traditional 60/40 balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds to consider multiple alternative asset classes.
Indeed, here at FindependenceHub.com we have in the past week run two blogs on specific alternative assets classes: Gold and Bitcoin.
Click on the following headlines to read them if you missed them the first time around:
Could Bitcoin fall to Zero, which is where this Crypto skeptic argues it belongs?
Admittedly both blogs have a strong point of view that comes from the respective authors. It happens that these two bloggers don’t think much of Gold and Bitcoin respectively. I value their opinion and felt it was worth passing along to readers, who can make their own judgements. Personally, I’ve always believed 5% in Gold or Precious Metals bullion and/or mining stocks is a risk worth taking. I’m a little more skeptical about cryptocurrency but have written in the past that for those inclined to take a flyer on Bitcoin, a 1 or 2% position could work. That 1% could soar and become 10% or more of a total portfolio but it’s also possible that it might indeed descend to zero.
The rest of this blog canvases a baker’s dozen of financial experts and business owners and you’ll see that several of them take a stance on gold and bitcoin, both positively and negatively, as well as numerous other asset classes, such as real estate, private equity, hedge funds and many more.
With the assistance of Featured.com, which has been supplying Findependence Hub with quality content for several years, we recently polled a number of these experts on LinkedIn, as you can see by clicking on their profiles below.
Here’s how we posed the question:
Beyond traditional stocks and bonds, represented in Balanced ETFs, what, if any, alternative asset classes do you recommend, and in what proportions? For example: precious metals (gold or silver bullion or related stocks, or ETFs holding the same), commodities in general, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies, real estate held directly or via REITs or certain publicly traded stocks, or any other alternatives not mentioned here, such as Private Equity or Hedge Funds.
1. I recommend gold primarily as geopolitical and inflation insurance, not as a growth asset. Allocate 5-10% of your portfolio to gold via ETFs like GLD or physical bullion if you have secure storage. Silver is more volatile and industrial, so treat it as a smaller speculative position (2-3%) if at all. Gold doesn’t pay dividends or interest, so it’s dead weight in a bull market, but it’s the ultimate “crisis hedge” when currencies or governments misbehave.
2. Direct real estate ownership is capital-intensive and illiquid, so for most investors, publicly traded REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) are the smarter play. They provide exposure to commercial, residential, or industrial property with daily liquidity and mandatory dividend payouts. I prefer diversified REIT ETFs like VNQ. This gives you inflation protection (rents rise with prices) and income generation without the headache of being a landlord. Avoid over-concentration here; real estate correlates heavily with the broader economy during downturns.
3. Crypto is not an investment; it’s a volatility lottery ticket with a philosophical thesis. I recommend limiting exposure to 2-5% of your portfolio, and only in the “blue chips” (Bitcoin and Ethereum). Treat this as venture capital: money you can afford to lose entirely. Do not buy crypto with debt, and do not FOMO into altcoins. Store it in a hardware wallet (Ledger, Trezor) if you hold significant amounts; exchanges are not banks. This allocation satisfies your urge to participate in the “future of finance” without risking your retirement if it all goes to zero.
4. Commodities (oil, natural gas, agricultural products) via ETFs like DBC provide inflation protection and diversification, but they are mean-reverting and volatile. Allocate 3-5% as a tactical hedge, especially during inflationary periods. Avoid direct futures contracts unless you are a professional; the contango and rollover costs will eat you alive.
5. Unless you are an accredited investor with $10M+ in liquid net worth, private equity and hedge funds are legally and financially inaccessible or impractical. They charge egregious fees (2% management + 20% performance), lock up your capital for years, and studies show most underperform public markets after fees. If you insist, access them via interval funds or publicly traded BDCs (Business Development Companies), but understand you are paying for illiquidity and complexity, not guaranteed outperformance. — Lyle Solomon, Principal Attorney, Oak View Law Group
Alternative investments should represent twenty per cent of an investor’s total portfolio. In terms of specific allocations, I recommend ten percent in physical gold as a hedge against loss or theft, five percent in real estate investment trusts (REITs) for income generation and three percent in Bitcoin for growth opportunities. Finally, I suggest two per cent be allocated to private equity for both capital gains and diversification purposes. A combination of these types of alternative investments will help protect investors from future inflationary pressures and contribute greatly to their long term performance. Geremy Yamamoto, Founder, Eazy House Sale
Put the most money into things you understand best
My bigger principle is this: Put the most money into the things you understand best.
In my case, that has always been real estate and housing because I know how value gets created there. I know what distress looks like. I know where the discount comes from. I know how people get in trouble. That matters. The more removed an asset is from your real-world understanding, the smaller it should probably be.
And one more thing. Liquidity matters. A lot. People forget that. An investment may look great on paper until you need cash and cannot get to it without taking a beating. That is why I like keeping things simple and staying out of anything that locks you up unless the reward is clearly worth it. — Don Wede, CEO, Heartland Funding Inc.
I’ll break the answer into two parts depending on what your goals are. Growing your assets is one thing, turning your capital into a lifetime income that never runs out is another and that is the #1 financial concern of the 50+ age group.
Purchasing Power Protection is the new Growth strategy:
Historically we used to achieve stable growth by balancing a risk-on asset class (equities) with a risk-off asset class (bonds). In good times the equities flew and the bonds did little; in bad times the bond performance offset declines in equities.
The problem is that in inflationary times, both fall. Inflation undermines the economics of established businesses which have to compete for limited resources that are increasing in price. Positioning for scarcity can insulate you against these circumstances. Gold, Silver and even Bitcoin are the most liquid scarce assets on the planet but they don’t move uniformly. Backing a portfolio with a scarce risk-on asset such as Silver or Bitcoin — while having the majority in a reliable, but occasionally boring, asset like gold — now gives you balance over the longer term. A 30/70 split seems to be the sweet spot.
Assets run out, Lifetime Income is forever:
70% of savers worry about one thing above all others. Can I afford my ideal lifestyle now at the risk of poverty if I live 25+ years? Not everyone will live 25+ years but if I spend now then I am betting against my own longevity. Insurers capitalize on this risk by pooling lives together and promising annuitants a fixed income for life. But fixed incomes lock in the loss of purchasing power. Your lifestyle is going to degrade over time.
It wasn’t always this way. Just over a century ago, 50% of U.S. households joined a longevity risk-sharing arrangement called a Tontine. Recent legislation has enabled modern Tontine Trusts which can be backed by assets that can resist inflation. The Tontine Trusts use your preferred assets to pay you a monthly income for life. When a member dies, their leftover assets top-up the trusts of survivors, typically enabling their monthly income to increase.
So the question the reader really needs to decide upon is: What matters most? The balance of the account or the lifestyle that I always want to enjoy. For generations past, the answer was not to play the markets but rather to invest in yourself.
[Potentially there is a far larger article here, contact us if you want to offer readers a $250 bonus and a similar reward for yourself] — Dean McClelland, Founder/CEO, Tontine Trust Europe KB
My work at Revive Life has taught me one thing above everything else: sustainable results come from addressing root causes, not chasing trends. That same principle applies to portfolio diversification.
Real estate — whether held directly or through REITs — mirrors what I see with long-term health plans. It’s tangible, it compounds over time, and it rewards patience over panic. REITs in particular let you participate without the landlord headaches, similar to how our patients get results without extreme interventions.
Gold has historically acted like hormonal balance in a portfolio: it doesn’t always perform dramatically, but it stabilizes everything around it during volatility. I’d treat it as a foundational hedge, not a growth engine.
Bitcoin I’d approach the way I approach experimental therapies: small, monitored exposure only after your fundamentals are solid. Private equity and hedge funds are generally too illiquid and opaque for most people, the financial equivalent of skipping diagnostics and jumping straight to aggressive treatment. — Christian Leszczak, CEO & Vice President, ReviveLife
Great question: and one I deal with directly working with business owners clearing $400K+, who often have cash to deploy beyond their core portfolio.
Gold has my attention right now, and not just theoretically. In our March 2025 market update, we watched gold break US$3,100/oz as tariff fears spiked; then in April it hit nearly $3,500/oz. That’s not noise. That’s a pattern worth respecting as a hedge against policy-driven volatility.
On Bitcoin: I’ve watched it slide below US$80K in March when risk-off sentiment hit, then claw back above $90K by end of April as some investors treated it as an alternative to fiat instability. That whiplash tells me it can play a role: but it’s a small, speculative slice, not a foundation.
REITs are where I often start conversations with business owner clients who want real estate exposure without the landlord headaches: liquid, diversified, and easier to rebalance than a physical property. Private equity is worth exploring for accredited investors willing to lock up capital for longer horizons, but I always ask first: do you have enough liquidity in your operating business before we tie anything up? — Daniel Delaney, Owner, Seek & Find Financial
Alternatives are not a replacement for a Balanced ETF Core
I don’t treat alternatives as a replacement for a balanced ETF core. I treat them as overlays that solve specific problems, hedging inflation, adding uncorrelated returns, or increasing upside exposure.
A practical way to think about it is allocating 10-30% of a portfolio to alternatives, depending on risk tolerance. Within that, I structure by function:
1. Inflation hedge / stability (5-10%)
Precious metals like gold fit here. They don’t produce income, but they help preserve value during inflation or market stress. I usually keep this small and steady.
2. Real assets / income (5-15%)
Real estate, typically through REITs, adds income and some inflation protection. It behaves differently from equities but still integrates well in a portfolio. This is usually the largest alternative allocation because it’s more stable and cash-flow oriented.
3. Growth asymmetry (2-8%)
This is where crypto like Bitcoin and Ethereum comes in. I keep this controlled because of volatility, but the upside potential justifies a small allocation. It’s not about prediction, it’s about optionality.
4. Broad commodities (0-5%)
Commodities can hedge inflation, but they’re cyclical and harder to time. I only include them when there’s a clear macro reason, otherwise I keep exposure minimal.
5. Illiquid alternatives (0-10%, optional)
Private equity or hedge funds can add diversification, but access, fees, and lock-ups matter. I only consider this if there’s a clear edge or access to strong managers.
One thing that changed my approach was realizing that alternatives shouldn’t all move together. If everything reacts the same way to market conditions, it defeats the purpose. So I focus more on correlation than category.
A simple structure could look like:
– 70-85% core (stocks + bonds via ETFs)
– 15-30% alternatives split across real estate, gold, and a small crypto allocation
The key is not overloading on any single alternative. Each one should play a specific role in risk management or return enhancement, not just be added for diversification on paper. — Ahmed Yousuf, SEO Expert & Financial Author, Customers Chain
Increasing your exposure to alternative investments can improve the overall resiliency of your investment portfolio. Five per cent allocated to gold is recommended as a low-risk position for stability purposes.
Ten per cent invested in real estate via REITs provides you with a relatively stable source of cash flow. Three per cent should be allocated to an equity-based asset such as Bitcoin or Ethereum to take advantage of long-term appreciation.
If you have not already included it within your overall portfolio allocation, adding some form of commodity based on inflationary measures will give you a well-rounded and modern investment strategy. — Evan Tunis, President, Florida Healthcare Insurance
Allocation Framework is as important as Asset Selection
For institutional portfolios seeking alternatives beyond traditional balanced ETFs, the allocation framework matters as much as the asset selection.
I would structure alternatives in three tiers based on liquidity and risk profile:
First, liquid alternatives (5-15% of portfolio): Bitcoin and Ethereum offer asymmetric return profiles with improving institutional custody infrastructure. The key is structured yield staking BTC, ETH, SOL, or PAXG through institutional-grade infrastructure can generate risk-adjusted returns without requiring directional price exposure. This is the core value proposition of platforms like BASIS.
Second, real asset exposure (5-10%): Gold-backed digital assets such as PAXG offer the inflation-hedge properties of physical gold with on-chain liquidity and programmable yield potential a meaningful improvement over traditional gold ETFs for active allocators.
Third, illiquid alternatives (5-10% for qualified investors): Private equity and hedge fund exposure provides uncorrelated return streams, though with significant lock-up and due diligence requirements.
The proportions depend heavily on the investor’s liquidity requirements, time horizon, and regulatory constraints. The most overlooked opportunity currently is structured yield on digital assets the ability to earn predictable, risk-managed returns on BTC and ETH without directional trading exposure. — Pierre Duval, Head of Institutional Partnerships & Growth, BASIS
My background spans direct lending, private equity across gaming, hospitality, and multifamily, and running investment strategy for a multi-billion-dollar family office: so alternative allocation is something I live daily, not just theorize about.
The most overlooked alternative for most investors isn’t crypto or gold: it’s direct private credit. At Sahara, we structure bridge and construction loans where the collateral is tangible real estate. The risk-adjusted return profile, especially in supply-constrained Southwest markets, often beats what you’d get chasing volatility in commodities or tokens.
If you want exposure to private equity but lack deal flow, be selective : sector matters enormously. My work across gaming, hospitality, and experiential assets at Fertitta Entertainment taught me that industries with high barriers to entry and licensing requirements create natural moats that generic PE funds miss entirely.
On crypto and precious metals: I won’t tell you zero allocation, but treat them as asymmetric bets, not portfolio anchors. The families I work with through Fiume Capital tend to keep hard assets like real estate and direct private investments as their core alternative sleeve: those are the positions that compound with active management, not just market sentiment. — David Hirschfeld, Partner, Sahara Investment Group
Investing in a variety of assets will make your investments more stable. Gold is one asset that you can use to stabilize your investments: using 5% of your portfolio for gold.
You also may be able to generate steady returns by using real estate through a company known as a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust). An average allocation to REITs is 10%.
A portion of your portfolio could include cryptocurrencies with the potential for long-term growth. The typical limit for cryptocurrencies is around 3%. Private Equity allows investors access to unique investment opportunities. Each category has its own ability to protect investors from the effects of inflation compared to other types of investments. — Adam New, Principal Owner, The Cash Offer Company
With over 30 years in Houston real estate, founding MacFarlane Realty Group in 2001, I’ve guided clients through residential upsizing, commercial expansions, and property tax savings that boost net returns beyond stocks or bonds.
I recommend direct real estate ownership, especially commercial properties for business owners, over volatile options like cryptocurrencies or commodities. For example, Sam Scott praised our team’s handling of his commercial purchase, making every step straightforward while securing space for growth.
Skip precious metals, Bitcoin, Ethereum, PE, or hedge funds: they lack the steady income and tax optimization we deliver. Instead, pair direct holdings with our no-upfront-cost property tax protests, using equal/uniform analysis and market comps to cut assessed values for residential or commercial portfolios.
Tailor proportions to your goals: more to commercial if expanding a business, balanced with residential for long-term stability, always prioritizing relationships like our multi-generational clients. — Michael J. MacFarlane, Real Estate Broker, MacFarlane Realty Group
Gold and real estate deserve a seat at the table. I say that as someone who spends most of my time in equity options, not physical assets.I’m Aigars Pilmanis, founder of VolRadar.com, where we track implied volatility and VRP signals across S&P 500 stocks. What that data shows: when equity IV Rank spikes above 50%, gold consistently outperforms. It’s the only major asset class that tends to stay bid when stocks sell off hard and options get expensive simultaneously.
My rough allocation beyond core equities and bonds: 10-15% gold (physical or GLD/IAU), 5-10% REITs for real income, a small crypto position. 3-5% Bitcoin. Speculation, not a hedge. I’d skip private equity for most retail investors. Hedge fund fees eat the diversification benefit alive.
The commodity angle is trickier. Broad commodity ETFs bleed returns through roll costs over time. Specific metals or energy exposure via options on futures is cleaner, but that’s a different conversation. VolRadar tracks this daily — happy to share the raw numbers if useful. –– Aigars Pilmanis, Founder, VolRadar
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