Alternative Outlook

There’s a predicted rise of 30% or more in Premier Cru Classé Château Haut-Brion 2006 wine prices, by Christmas 2011. Is this an interesting alternative asset investment to consider?

The Board of Premier Cru Fine Wine Investments, the world’s leading fine wine investment adviser, is predicting a price rise of at least 30% in Premier Cru Classé Château Haut-Brion 2006, by Christmas 2011.

Investing in fine wine is tax free which adds to the attraction for investing in wine as an alternative asset.

Stacey Golding, co-Founder &…

Gold held at seven-week highs on Thursday, driven by the escalating violence in the Middle East that has propelled oil prices to 2-1/2 year highs and heightened investor fears of an inflationary shock to the global economy, Reuters reports

As many as 1,000 people may have been killed in the unrest in Libya, where on Wednesday, thousands celebrated as the east broke free of the control of Mummar Gaddafi, who has vowed to crush the revolt.

Escalating violence in Libya, Africa’s third-largest producer of oil, sent crude futures to their hi…

Investors have “woken up to the benefits” of holding farmland during inflationary times, Savills said, noting an 11% rise in average UK prices last year, and lifting its forecast for growth in 2011.

The number of new prospective farmland buyers registering with the property consultancy surged by 45% last year, after being relatively stable since 2006.

In actual deals, the proportion of UK farm purchases sealed by buyers citing investment as their primary motive doubled to 31%.

Institutional buyers accounted for 10% of purchases, …

Last year, fine wines returned an impressive 40.5% on the Liv-ex Fine Wine 100 index, with limited volatility. But is this outstanding performance likely to continue through 2011 or should investors steer clear?

The Wine Investment Fund (TWIF) predicts that the Liv-ex index will finish 2011 at around 407, a rise of 21% compared with its 2010 year-end level.

There is high demand for wine, especially in Asia, and a limited supply of expensive vintage wines that make good investments.

Andrew della Casa, director of TWIF, says that w…

This week, the European parliament voted for new rules that require lower emissions from commercial vehicles. With governments globally continuing to set stiff targets for the use of “clean” energy, Biofuels Asia – a Singapore-based clean-energy company – is betting on Jatropha, a hardy plant that is a source of biodiesel.

One of the reasons Jatropha is gaining ground as a biodiesel alternative is that it can grow on tougher soil conditions.

Biofuels Asia said it expects demand for biofuels to increase between 20 and 30 per cent …

Investors are snapping up physical gold bars in a battle to beat rocketing inflation, convincing a major UK pension provider to add a dedicated bullion buying service to its SIPP.

Inflation figures show UK consumer prices are rising at 4% a year in January due to the VAT hike, oil and food costs.

It which means investors need to find returns of 6.5% a year before tax and charges to keep pace,

Alistair Hardie, of Standard Life, says savers have responded by turning to the classic ‘safe haven’ of gold – which has historically retaine…

Ingenious Ventures is posed to launch an EIS fund to provide investors access to commercial wine trading.

The new Vindemia fund has targeted a £10m fund size and will target annual returns of 10.8 per cent, a gross equivalent return of 21.5 per cent a year.

Ingenious Ventures, a division of Ingenious Media, said the fund provides an exciting and unique opportunity for investors to utilise the best elements of wine as an asset class while benefiting from the tax benefits of the Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Since August 2001, av…

One of the hardest issues facing investors after the financial crisis, especially those for whom their investment is their primary source of income, is finding a safe yet high-yield destination for their money.

With interest rates in the doldrums and house prices still generally low across the UK, Europe and the US, the traditional conservative investments of high-interest savings accounts or property purchases would seem to be obsolete.

By the same token, since the 2008 crash all but the bravest investors have opted out of the stoc…

It may seem a radical investment made by those who believe the end times are coming, but with food prices soaring, farmland could be on the brink of a serious bull market.

It’s not just investors like Jim Rogers in the market, but countries too seeking to secure their food future.

Of course farmland investment comes with its own challenges. It requires a long-term commitment. Weather is volatile, and could slam your investment in the short-term.

But if you have the patience, and the money, farm land could be of huge use to …

IFAs and agents looking to broaden their offering of investment products should consider farmland. It’s a product with a great back story that offers solid returns for investors and good commissions for agents. In this article Daniel Kiernan, chief investment analyst at Alternative Outlook outlines some of the benefits and key selling points.

What are the Benefits of Farmland for Agents?

As an investment product, farmland offers three key benefits to agents:

Great backstory to help sell it
Favourable commissions for agents
…