WATCH: Alternative assets can help offset slowing performance of listed equities

Gavin Ralston from Schroders says concerns about low returns from traditional asset classes can be addressed by diversifying into alternative investments.

Ralston notes that the past decade has been good for global equities, with even Japan — the worst-performing part of the world — delivering 8.4% per annum since 2009. Over the same period, equities in the US (13.5%), eurozone (9.5%), UK (8.8%) and emerging markets (9.9%) rewarded investors with substantial inflation-beating returns.

But he says this equity return bonanza is unlikely to be repeated over the next decade, and while investing in alternative asset classes is not easy, Ralston believes it is definitely worth pursuing.