Alternative Outlook

“Biofuels stands out as the best option, considering the overall environmental, safety and security impacts.”

Volatile costs for fossil fuels and rising concerns over emissions. “A doubling of present CO2 emissions by 2050 if we do nothing.” A share of “for at least 10% of global emissions in 2050, as compared to 3% today, if measures are not taken.”

Sounds a lot like aviation, right? Well, in this case, it is the marine shipping industry. Shipping giant DNV has identified those risk factors in an update of its landmark (2009) Pat…

Forestry investment and plantation management firm Greenwood Management has announced that it is to begin planting a new species in its Brazilian plantations, in the form of White Pine – a timber that is popular as a specialty wood for use in the furniture industry.

Greenwood’s forestry management experts have decided upon White Pine as it is an extremely durable timber, which can be processed in a timber mill up to a year after being cut down. This makes it ideal for exportation, which is a major growth area for Greenwood.

G…

The price of gold will reach $2,100 an ounce within three years and could rise to almost $5,000 by the end of the decade, according to a new report.

Rising demand for gold in China and India will drive the precious metal’s continued bull run, analysts at Standard Chartered, the Asia-focused bank, predicted. They said low interest rates in America and a time lag before mines started supplying more gold would see the rally extend to at least 2014.

“Our base-case forecast is that prices rally to peak at an average o…

Gold has hit new record highs in the last two weeks, with the price driven higher by investors seeking protection from rampant inflation, unrest in the Middle East and uncertainty about the state of the economy.

Gold hit a peaked at £896 per ounce on Wednesday 6th April. Demand is being driven by investors of all sizes, from Hedge Funds to private individuals, looking to it’s properties as a secure store of wealth.

Many individual investors are looking to gold as an alternative to cash. With inflation at it’s highest level for 28…

The gold price has reached a new high of $1,457, an increase of more $16.Investors have once again turned to the perceived safe-haven of gold in times of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Investor demand has pushed the gold price to a new record high of $1,457 per ounce, $16 more than the previous high set on March 24.

“Gold hit a new all-time high today as investors once again turned to assets with strong wealth preserving and diversification characteristics and relatively low volatility,” said Marcus Grubb, Mana…

IFAs and agents looking for a simple alternative investment to add to their menu of products could do a lot worse than gold. You don’t need a masters in economics to understand it and you don’t need to be regulated to sell it.

What are the Benefits of Gold for Agents?

There are two key benefits of gold that agents should bear in mind.

Firstly, it’s an opportunity to earn commissions that they wouldn’t earn otherwise. While large investments are not uncommon, gold is a low entry level, liquid alternative to cash and what many ag…

A good number of agents and IFAs are beginning to get involved in Alternative Investments as buyers seek lower risk, more secure, lower entry level investments and sales partners can earn good and quick commissions with emotion free product.

What are alternative investments?
Basically, alternative investments are assets that are not equity, cash, property or fixed income products.  Alternatives are largely uncorrelated with these more commonly held investments, so they can be used to provide diversification
This can include hedge funds, v…

Governments around the globe have begun focusing on support for the development of alternative renewable energy sources to meet future energy needs, a high level conference on jatropha heard yesterday.

The disclosure was made by Eastern Africa US Department of Agriculture (USD) counsellor Stephen Hammond at the 2011 Tanzania National Jatropha Conference being held here.

He said change in the global focus towards jatropha plants had been due to the fact that there is a growing concern about non-renewable petroleum reserves, which wil…

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…

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…