https://humbledollar.com/2018/09/any-alternative/ "What are alternative investments? In simple terms, an alternative is any investment that isn’t a stock or a bond, the two pillars of a traditional investment portfolio. Alternatives include commodities (such as corn, livestock, crude oil and precious metals), real estate , stock options, futures contracts and other esoteric investments. That's the North American perspective. Some time around the turn of the millennium, I spent some time in Australia, and I was surprised to learn that in their financial orthodoxy, basic asset classes are (at least were, at that time) stocks, bonds and real estate. See, for instance, how a relatively low cost balanced superannuation fund is invested: su...