Alternative Investment

See Alternative Asset. Investments of a vanilla flavor are things like stocks, bonds, and good ol' hard cash in the Serta. Alternative investments are things like hedge funds, real estate, commodities, and fancy derivatives. They're sometimes known as alts and are usually only owned by "accredited investors” (people with lots of money and the sophistication to understand that it's really easy to lose 100% of your money in these roll-the-dice kinds of situations).