Alternative investments have become an increasingly important part of portfolios, with alts such as absolute return and hedge funds making up about 10 per cent of the average DFM portfolio according to our database.

When other assets such as property, infrastructure, commodities and private equity are added to this, it reaches an average of 15 per cent.

The world of alternatives has also grown to include an increasingly wide range of assets including, most notably, music royalties.

But the growth of this sector prompts many questions, including whether it is actually possible to find a genuinely alternative asset or whether everything is ultimately priced off bonds or equities.

It also poses the question of how to address liquidity and how, in a world of ever-increasing cost pressures, these somewhat esoteric assets can be accessed at a keen price point.

These are some of the questions we will attempt to answer in this special report, which qualifies for 60 minutes of CPD with the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment.