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Those who love Wall Street investment products tout the average annual return of 9.5% for the S&P Index over the past 20 years as a reason to invest in public equities. However, the 9.5% figure doesn’t paint the entire picture because that 20-year average doesn’t account for volatility.

For example, in 2017, the S&P 500’s total return was over 19.7%, but for 2018, it was minus 6.2%. What the pro-Wall Street crowd won’t mention is that to compensate for volatility, bonds are usually thrown in the mix as a hedge against downturns like in 2018.

There’s a lot to get excited about with Opportunity Zones but let’s be careful not to lose the forest for the trees. Don’t get caught up in the tax benefits, and forget to evaluate the viability of the deal.

For the uninitiated, here’s a primer on Opportunity Zones.

Ever since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), there’s been a tremendous amount of buzz surrounding the Qualified Opportunity Zone program created to spur economic development and job creation by investing in businesses located in economically-distressed communities.

Remember the days of the single-screen movie theater before the proliferation of the multiplex? Remember those lines that snaked on forever for big blockbusters like Star Wars, ET and Rocky? You’d follow the line around one corner of the building only to be disappointed to find that the line continued on to the next corner. You soldiered on to the next corner only to suffer further disappointment as the line continued down the block. At that point, you weren’t sure there would be any tickets left since it was a first come first serve system back then.

When a public company suffers a financial meltdown, what are the ripple effects?

What are the different levels of exposure among the varying levels of investors and holders of financial instruments? To predict the impact of a future financial meltdown, one only has to look back at some recent financial disasters to have an idea of how the next disaster will play out.

Investing in private placements is not for everyone. They may not be right for you. Let’s see if you relate more closely with James or Jimmy.

James and Jimmy are brothers, but the two couldn’t be more different when it comes to investing and even in their personal finances. Does that sound like you and your siblings?

When was the last time you saw two competing mobile home parks across the street from one another or even on the same city block?

The answer is likely never, because like you, we have never seen this phenomenon. We’re not saying it doesn’t exist. We’re just saying that in all our years of investing in this space, we’ve never seen it.

Conventional investing is a pretty dull game. You purchase your index funds or shares of stock on your own and forget about them or in the case with many investors, your financial adviser purchases stocks on your behalf and often times they’re already sold before you even hear about them.

While true diversification is a critical component for a successful portfolio, I would argue the number one reason to invest in private placements is the benefit of above-market returns combined with below-market volatility.

Cambridge Associates, an index that tracks private equity performance, reports that since 2000, Private Investments experienced an impressive 16% annual return compared to 7.4% from the S&P 500.

Private placement securities are similar to typical stock offerings but to private investors, rather than the public, they allow companies to raise significant capital without having to become a publicly traded company.

Private investment opportunities are typically offered in the early stages of a company’s life when they are trying to grow or acquire key assets. Companies and investors both benefit greatly from the issuing of private placements. Investment companies that use private placements do so by providing opportunities to investors with defined exit and the expectation of an ROI.

Heightened volatility in the equity markets and low bond yields have made investment success challenging for many investors, and the future doesn’t hold much promise in the public markets. A recent report by Deutsche Asset Management’s Quantitative Strategies Group forecasted that the long-term (20 years) forecast for the U.S. equity markets is considerably lower than the historical returns of the 1980s and 1990s.

With these lower return expectations, what is an investor to do with heightened return requirements given inflation and the other economic factors increasing financial demands when they retire?