Investors Chronicle - How safe is property income?

Investors Chronicle - How safe is property income?

Investors used to buy 'alternative' asset classes for diversification. The theory went that you could reduce risk simply by mixing together assets with different return characteristics. Sadly, it was based on historical data that turned out to be irrelevant during the financial crisis - just when it was most needed. Diversification is fine as far as it goes, but it's no substitute for conviction.

So now investors buy alternatives for a more basic reason - because they are, as the name suggests, alternatives to the big three asset classes. Equities are too volatile and too susceptible to macro-economic uncertainty. Bonds are at the end of three golden decades of growth. Cash offers no yield and no protection from inflation.