Dec 21, 2025
3 min read
When deciding where to spend your money next year, consider the stock market and other fixed income investments.
Alternative assets should represent a minority component in the portfolios of experienced, risk-taking investors.
Deciding where to spend your money next year requires considering alternative investments in the stock market and fixed income, which have traditionally been the preserve of high net worth and highly sophisticated investors, but with broader public exposure.The range of options is wide and varied.These include everything from real estate to art and wine, hedge funds, stocks and private loans, as well as commodities.According to individual investment, preferences, existing wallet and specific situation.
For example, illiquid alternative assets linked to the real economy should always be part of a portfolio because they help reduce the effects of economic cycles on markets, says iCapital partner Guillermo Santos.Investing in other alternative assets like commodities, gold and precious metals is different because it can be done efficiently through mutual funds or liquid ETFs.
Another point that experts emphasize is that options always represent a small part of an investment.For investors with a high risk tolerance, it could be 20 to 35%, according to Jose Manuel Marin Cebrian, economist and founder of Fortuna SFP.Santos lowers the range to 10-20%, Nextstep Finance founder Victor Alvargonzalez lowers it to 5-10%, and investors already have some experience.And as long as you have enough knowledge.If it is a medium profile, the iCapital partner finds 5% to 10% appropriate, and the founder of Fortuna SFP tends to 10% to 20%, because "the goal is not to increase profits, but to stabilize the portfolio and secure purchasing power."
Conservative investors may look cautiously at alternatives.For Marín,Gold and precious metals especially fit this profile of "controlled and liquid exposure. I believe credit/private debt funds are appropriate if the size of the investor's global portfolio allows. Alvargonzález warns that investments in these products in this sense include investments in high-risk loans. "It's not like an ordinary fund.
In terms of alternative assets (excluding real estate and cryptocurrencies), Santos sees investments in private credit/debt funds as being particularly attractive in 2026, with the profitability of these funds significantly improving compared to similar assets in organized markets; infrastructure funds, which should perform well this year due to fiscal spending in Germany and other European countries;
Marin admits that investing in private equity funds has good prospects, because credit and high debt leave many solvent companies outside the traditional banking circuit, which opens up opportunities as long as three clear premises are assumed: a long horizon, acceptable liquidity and professional selection."It is not an advantage for improving conservative profiles or for conservative profiles without prior planning," he emphasizes.In some venture capital funds it is possible to invest a minimum of 10,000 euros. For example, MyInvestor now has Actyus Coinvest, FCR, on the screen.
The expert believes that gold and precious metals will once again take the central place in portfolios, as they did in 2025. "The accumulation of money by the big banks, the overflowing public debt and the process of restructuring the world's assets confirm their role as safe assets. Gold should not be found, but not to forget the sale of the industry. the best friends of women, diamonds, after the devaluation of the dollar and the loss of confidence in the American debt due to the lack of budget rigor, whichit seems to be a substitute for safe assets in the club," he said. Schroder International Selection Fund Global Gold A Accumulation EUR Hedged is the most profitable fund in 2025 among those investing in companies related to gold and precious metals, with a survey of 170%, according to data from Finect.
He notes that other raw materials beyond precious metals remain strategic for geopolitical, energy, and industrial reasons, and that they serve better as tactical positions than as structural foundations.
Ultimately, he says, while art is not a typical financial asset, it can serve an interesting heritage function because of its low relationship to the market, limited supply, and safe haven value of high-quality works.Of course, this reduces liquidity and requires expertise.
