BlackRock iShares Aladdin Our company Investors Canada EN FR Sign In About us Products Investment themes Insights & education Resources Alternative investments are essential More and more investors are shifting to alternatives to boost returns, generate income, provide diversification from traditional investments and achieve their goals. What are alternative investments? There are two main types. First, private assets such as private equity, private credit, and real assets are less frequently traded than public stocks and bonds, and give investors access to additional sources of return. Hedge funds, the second type, operate mainly in public markets but use less traditional tools such as short-selling and leverage. Jim Barry, BlackRock Alternatives Chief Investment Officer, comments on the importance of real assets, credit and private equity in the economic recovery, and their role in two powerful investment themes: digitization and decarbonization. View transcript BlackRock is Tomorrow’s Alternatives Platform BlackRock can look beyond public markets and traditional investments to find solutions in real estate, infrastructure, private equity, credit, hedge funds and multi-alternatives. We seek to deliver outperformance with true partnership. BlackRock is well-equipped to meet your needs on this journey. We provide you: Access to the best opportunities Our 330-plus alternative investment professionals supplement their networks and know-how with insights from BlackRock’s other 2,000-plus investors around the world. Greater transparency We use advanced technology to help build stronger portfolios – we monitor 3,000 risk factors daily on Aladdin and 45,000 private companies on eFront. An integrated view We can fully model the whole portfolio to ensure you have a deeper understanding of how alternatives impact the rest of your portfolio. A new standard of alignment Our 1,000+ member professional staff works to understand investor needs– and deliver BlackRock’s best use of skill, scale and technology to help you achieve your goals. Explore more About us WHO WE ARE About BlackRock Corporate Sustainability Investment stewardship Our team OUR SOLUTIONS About iShares About Aladdin Financial Markets Advisory Products BY TYPE iShares ETFs Mutual Funds BY ASSET CLASS Equity Fixed Income Commodity Investment themes INVESTING APPROACHES Sustainable Investing The China opportunity Alternative investments Insights & education MARKET INSIGHTS Featured Insights BlackRock Investment Institute EDUCATION How ETFs trade What is an ETF How to buy ETFs Frequently asked questions (FAQs) Resources RESOURCES Resource Library Tax Information Center Customer service As a global investment manager and fiduciary to our clients, our purpose at BlackRock is to help everyone experience financial well-being. Since 1999, we've been a leading provider of financial technology, and our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. CORPORATE Careers Newsroom Investor relations FAQs Contact us Accessibility LEGAL Terms & conditions Privacy policy Business continuity © 2021 BlackRock, Inc. All rights reserved. This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and should not be construed as a solicitation or offering of units of any fund or other security in any jurisdiction. Incorporating alternative investments into a portfolio presents the opportunity for significant losses including in some cases, losses which exceed the principal amount invested. Also, some alternative investments have experienced periods of extreme volatility and in general, are not suitable for all investors. Asset allocation and diversification strategies do not ensure profit or protect against loss in declining markets. Investing in alternative strategies such as a long/short strategy, presents the opportunity for losses which exceed the principal amount invested. iShares® ETFs are managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in iShares ETFs. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional. iSHARES and BLACKROCK are registered trademarks of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. Used with permission. MKTGH0920C-1308377