Deep Dive: Finding genuine diversified returns is not easy

Structured products and put options

Will McIntosh-Whyte, fund manager at Rathbone Greenbank Multi-Asset Portfolios, dives into alternatives

‘Alternatives' is often a catch-all term for anything that is not a traditional bond or equity - the aim being to add diversification to a portfolio. However, finding genuine diversified returns that can provide protection in falling markets is no easy feat, and finding them for sustainable mandates adds a layer of complexity. Fixed income, equities and traditional alternative investments can behave very differently in normal times, but can often correlate during periods of market stress. This is why we prefer to categorise assets by their liquidity and correlation to equities in market ...