Alternative investments get more popular at major hedge fund conference

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Dealing in diamonds

Until recently, the professional diamond industry hasn't been on the radar for the alternative investment community.

But wealth managers are looking for that extra something to keep their clients happy after the bruising markets took last year, according to Saul Singer, a partner in Fusion Alternatives, a professional advisory firm specializing in the emerging alternative investment class of investment-grade diamonds. Demand for diamonds is outstripping supply, a trend Singer expects to continue because no diamond mines are coming on line and it takes years to get rough diamonds ready for sale once they are found.

"We get the feeling that wealth managers are out there on the lookout for different things," Singer said. "We get the feeling they have to prove they're not just sitting back and pressing a couple of buttons on an investment platform."

Fusion Alternatives offers selected investors access to investible diamonds that aren't readily available on the conventional market. It's also planning a fund that specializes in investment-grade polished diamonds.

And his field happens to have a strong de-correlation to traditional asset classes.

"Diamond-mining companies through equities are exposed to different risks," Singer said. "Generally, diamonds are mined in regions that are not necessarily so stable and the other thing they could do is pick up the phone and call a large diamond house and say they want to invest X amount of money in diamonds," said Singer, who adds that they provide clients with all the research."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alternative-investing-stamps-weather-death?pagenumber=2

For further information about investment grade diamonds please visit our website at http://www.fusionalternatives.com.

Contacts: Saul Singer on +44-(0)207-183-0244 or info@fusionalternatives.com