Investing In Foreign Alternative Assets From India

When looking for investment opportunities, the conventional categories of stocks, deposits, real estate, and gold usually come to mind. But you may have also come across asset classes that classify themselves as alternative investments. These include debt financing, private equity or venture capital, hedge funds, commodities, and more.

Institutional investors and accredited individuals (HNIs) are prominent investors in alternative assets due to their complex nature, regulations, and risks. However, investing in alternative assets has now become more accessible even for the typical retail investor. One can invest in fractional real estate in the US for as little as $10.

Another emerging alternative investment has been the emergence of peer-to-peer lending (P2P platforms). These platforms enable individuals and businesses to crowdsource loans from other individuals, cutting out the financial institutions as middlemen. Some P2P lending or project financing platforms allow lenders to start with an account balance of as little as $25.

RBI’s LRS does not allow direct lending to individuals. However, investments in debt securities are permitted, which is what the project financing platforms offer.

Foreign alternative asset platforms you can use from India

Yieldstreet

Yieldstreet was founded in 2015. The platform focuses on income generation across the yield spectrum and provides a variety of alternative investment options. 

Investors have trusted the platform with over $1.7B in investments. As a reward, they have received over $1B principal and interest to date. You can invest in their multi-asset class fund or the 3–6-month offerings. The minimum investment on the platform is $1000.

Crowdestor

The Estonian financing platform, Crowdestor was founded in 2017. It offers a crowd-based fundraising platform for investors to invest directly in real estate and business projects. To date, the combined investments of all its projects have crossed EUR 54M. It has managed to return EUR 23.8M to investors with an average investor yield of 20.2% per annum. The minimum investment required for this platform is EUR 50. Crowdestor’s portfolio includes many investment projects other than real estate, ranging from energy projects to restaurants and movie production!

PeerBerry

Peerberry is another debt investment platform in Europe, operating from Latvia. The company began operations in November 2017 with loans originated primarily by Aventus Group and its subsidiaries. You can start investing through PeerBerry with as little as EUR 10. The platform has had a total investment volume of close to EUR 600M so far. It also has an Auto Invest option that automatically implements your chosen investment strategy. After you enter your investment criteria, Auto Invest will automatically invest in suitable loans.

While Winvesta does not have a tie-up with any of the above-mentioned firms, one can invest through these platforms by using the Winvesta Multi-Currency Account to fund the investment, collect proceeds, and reallocate capital seamlessly. European platforms like Peerberry and Crowdestor need you to have a Euro IBAN to be able to fund the account and receive proceeds. The Winvesta MCA provides you with EUR, GBP, and USD local accounts to easily fund your accounts. 

Disclaimer: Foreign Alternative Assets like debt financing involve risks, including loss of capital, and illiquidity, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Winvesta is not affiliated with the platforms mentioned above in any manner.