Up to that point the union had maintained a traditional investment portfolio made up of conventional stocks and bond funds, government obligations and a real estate trust fund. (nytimes.com)
Alternative assets are anything that aren't conventional stocks and bonds. (definefinancial.com)
MANY ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS can be slotted into one of two categories: They are either hard - asset plays, like commodities and real estate, or they are financially engineered to perform unlike conventional stocks and bonds, which is what you get with many hedge funds and hedge - fund - like mutual funds. (humbledollar.com)