Real estate, private equity, and non-traditional assets
Alternative Investments
Pension funds and endowments allocate roughly 25% of their portfolios to alternatives. Individual investors are now gaining access to many of those same opportunities.
What Pensions and Endowments Have Always Done
Stocks and bonds are the backbone of most portfolios, but they are not the only option. Alternative investments, including real estate, private equity, commodities, and infrastructure, can provide diversification that traditional assets alone cannot deliver. The key benefit is low correlation to public markets. When stocks fall, certain alternatives may hold their value or even gain. Pension funds and endowments allocate roughly 25 percent of their portfolios to alternatives for exactly this reason.
Alternatives are not exotic. They are what the largest, most sophisticated investors in the world have used for decades. The difference is that individual investors can now access them too.
Suitability First
Not every alternative is appropriate for every investor. Liquidity, fees, minimum investment thresholds, and your overall financial plan all factor into the decision. Some products require accredited investor status. Some lock up capital for years. We recommend alternatives only when they genuinely improve your portfolio's risk-and-return profile, and we walk you through every tradeoff before anything is funded.
Why It Matters
If your entire portfolio moves with the public market, every downturn hits everything you own at the same time. A measured allocation to lower-correlation assets can soften that impact and add a hedge against long-term inflation that traditional bonds increasingly struggle to provide.
Alternatives are not exotic. They are what the largest, most sophisticated investors in the world have used for decades. The difference is that individual investors can now access them too.
Alternatives May Belong in Your Portfolio If...
Any of these describe your investment situation.
- Heavily Concentrated in Stocks & Bonds. If your entire portfolio moves with the public market, alternatives can reduce that correlation.
- Accredited Investors Seeking Access. Many alternative options require accredited investor status. If you qualify, they open up strategies previously reserved for institutions.
- Concerned About Long-Term Inflation. Real assets like real estate and commodities have historically served as effective inflation hedges.
- Patient Capital with a Long Horizon. Many alternatives require longer holding periods but have historically delivered strong risk-adjusted returns.
Meet Your Advisors
Decades of Credentialed, Fiduciary Experience
The wealth and retirement work happens with the people below. Each one carries the licensing, registrations, and continuing education behind every recommendation we make.
Chris Cohan
CEO | ChFC®, RMA®
ChFC® · RMA® · Series 6, 63, 65 · AZ Life & Health
With over 25 years in financial services and deep Arizona roots, Chris takes a steady, thoughtful approach to wealth and estate planning. As a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) and Retirement Management Advisor® (RMA®), he helps individuals and families build, protect, and transfer wealth through personalized strategies.
View ProfileStephen Levin
Tucson Director of Risk Management | Senior Planning Consultant | Licensed Insurance Agent
Licensed Insurance Agent
Stephen brings a background in risk management to his role at RJP, where he helps Tucson-area families protect what they've worked so hard to build. Before transitioning into estate and insurance planning, he spent years in risk-management leadership, learning how to spot vulnerabilities and build strategies that hold up when it matters most.
View ProfileRon Tallou
Wealth Management Advisor, Fiduciary
Series 6, 63, 65 · Licensed Insurance Agent
Born and raised in Michigan, Ron developed a strong work ethic and deep appreciation for community values early in life. These formative experiences ignited a lifelong passion for wealth management, ultimately shaping his career in finance.
View ProfileThomas Fryar
Senior Planning Consultant | Licensed Insurance Agent
Licensed Insurance Agent
As a financial services professional since 1978, Thomas has developed risk-managed retirement income and estate-transfer strategies that help clients protect lifetime cash flow, provide for surviving spouses or special-needs family members, and pass wealth efficiently across generations. His four decades in life insurance and planning inform a disciplined, education-driven approach to protecting family assets.
View ProfileLenny Trujillo
Senior Planning Consultant | CLDP | Licensed Insurance Agent
Certified Legal Document Preparer (CLDP) · Licensed Insurance Agent
For more than 25 years, Lenny has helped Arizona families sit down at the kitchen table and finally make sense of retirement, trusts, and what happens to everything they've worked for. A Certified Legal Document Preparer and licensed life and health insurance agent, he walks clients through revocable living trusts, special needs planning, powers of attorney, and insurance-based asset protection in plain English. Clients consistently describe him as patient, warm, and genuinely interested in their story, the kind of advisor who'll pause the paperwork to hear about the grandkids before getting back to the signatures.
View ProfileRalph Abate
Senior Planning Consultant | Licensed Insurance Agent
Licensed Insurance Agent
Drawing on more than 30 years in insurance and retirement-income planning, Ralph structures tax-efficient wealth-transfer and protection solutions for RJP clients. His analytical approach and coaching style help households understand complex options and make informed decisions.
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Client Testimonials
Common Alternative Investments Questions
Answers to the questions Arizona families ask most about alternative investments.