The alternative asset space has experienced accelerated growth over the last 24 months. Platforms that promote investing across a variety of verticals ranging from NFTs and culture to farmland have seen increased funding and transaction volume. This week’s Heat Check breaks down the growing trend of alternative asset investing and fractionalized ownership.

The Heat Check provides context on the various verticals which have arisen out of the “financialization of everything” movement. In this context, marketplaces have been established to facilitate the trading of assets that previously would have been inaccessible to mainstream consumers. One of the largest verticals that has emerged is the culture vertical. Culture asset platforms have seen strong traction and adoption, with the most recent example being StockX announcing its plan to IPO sometime early this year.

Other platforms in the space have also seen considerable volume and adoption:

• GOAT
• Royalty Exchange
• StarStock
• Alt
• Rally
• Collectable

So why does the alternative asset space matter? According to reports from BlackRock and JP Morgan, institutional investors poured $1.1 trillion in new money into alternative assets in 2021 with total alternative assets under management above $9 trillion. Traditionally, this represented investments in private equity, real estate, and hedge funds by large institutional investors. Recently consumers have looked to get in on the alternatives game and their preferred asset classes are wide ranging.

NFTs and trading cards have been two of the more popular investing vehicles for consumers over the past two years. NFT volume trading reached $13.1 billion and the domestic trading card market is anticipated to reach $61 million by 2027.

Check out the full report here.

ICYMI: Last week, we published a new Heat Check on investor predictions for 2022. You can access that report and our entire catalog of research at Insights HQ.