Nov 4, 2026 · 30 min
Alternative assets challenge investors to look beyond traditional markets
Alternatives: The investments you've never considered with Dania Zinurova | FinFest 2026
Private markets and unusual assets may broaden portfolio exposure, but they demand patience, careful risk assessment and tolerance for illiquidity.
- 1Alternative investments extend beyond shares, bonds and property into private equity, infrastructure, private debt and water rights.
- 2Private-market opportunities can offer diversification, but limited liquidity and long time horizons change how investors manage risk.
- 3Dania Zinurova uses examples including listed investment companies and water rights to show why unfamiliar assets require deeper scrutiny.
Don't miss
Dania Zinurova’s opening warm-up moves from ETFs and shares to airport stakes and water rights, making the breadth of alternatives tangible.
The brief
At FinFest 2026, Bryce and Ren frame alternative investments as a route beyond shares, bonds and property, then hand the discussion to keynote speaker Dania Zinurova.
Zinurova’s central argument is that alternatives span a wide field, from listed investment companies to private equity, infrastructure, private debt and water rights.
The keynote’s warm-up uses familiar and surprising examples—including ETFs, shares, airport stakes and water rights—to test how investors define an alternative asset.
The opportunity comes with constraints: private markets can be illiquid, harder to assess and dependent on a long-term perspective rather than quick access to capital.
The episode leaves a practical tension in view: unfamiliar investments may broaden exposure, but complexity and limited liquidity make due diligence essential.
What was said on this episode
19 statements · 17 positive · 1 negative · 1 neutral
- Dania Zinurovaon Listed investment companiesPositive4:06
Listed investment companies can trade below the value of their underlying assets.
“These are opportunities to buy something that's potentially worth a dollar for 70 to 80 cents.”
Listen at 4:06
- Dania Zinurovaon Closed-end fundsPositive5:28
Closed-end funds enable managers to pursue long-term investment strategies.
“This closed-end structure gives a really good opportunity to a fund manager to manage the portfolio in a very long-term fashion, adopting long-term investment horizons.”
Listen at 5:28
- Dania Zinurovaon Private-market investmentsNeutral5:41
Private-market investments typically realize value after five to ten years.
“The value realization from those investments comes only after 5, 7, sometimes 10 years of holding.”
Listen at 5:41
- Dania Zinurovaon WMA portfolioPositive6:37
WMA holds over 150 assets with varied risks and return profiles.
“When we look at underlying investments, it's over 150 different assets, different opportunities driven by different risks and have different return profile.”
Listen at 6:37
- Dania Zinurovaon ASX-listed companiesNegative9:41
The number of ASX-listed companies has been declining.
“The number of listed companies on ASX has been shrinking.”
Listen at 9:41
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian privately owned businessesPositive9:50
Australia’s privately owned business population has been increasing.
“The number of privately owned businesses being registered and active businesses in Australia... has been increasing.”
Listen at 9:50
- Dania Zinurovaon WMAPositive10:33
WMA delivered 9.1% return with approximately 2.7% volatility this year.
“Portfolios such as WMA, it's your train ride. This year it delivered 9.1% investment return and volatility was around 2.7%.”
Listen at 10:33
- Dania Zinurovaon Private-market assetsPositive11:56
Private-market asset values change more smoothly than listed-market values.
“the change is much smoother.”
Listen at 11:56
- Dania Zinurovaon InfrastructurePositive14:53
Infrastructure investment and income returns are generally linked to inflation.
“Most of the time, it's investment returns, income returns, they're linked to inflation.”
Listen at 14:53
- Dania Zinurovaon Infrastructure investmentsPositive15:05
Infrastructure revenues generally rise with inflation.
“infrastructure is something that you probably want to have in your portfolio because revenues increase every year together with CPI.”
Listen at 15:05
- Dania Zinurovaon Infrastructure investmentsPositive15:07
Investors should consider infrastructure for inflation-linked income.
“you probably want to have in your portfolio”
Listen at 15:07
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian water entitlementsPositive16:13
Australian water-entitlement values increased 117% over the last decade.
“Over the last 10 years, The value of the Australian water entitlements increased by 117% or 9% per annum.”
Listen at 16:13
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian water entitlementsPositive16:31
Australian water entitlements have negative correlation with most other asset classes.
“it's not correlated at all to any other asset classes. In fact, it has negative correlation to most of the asset classes.”
Listen at 16:31
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian water entitlementsPositive17:57
Australian water-entitlement values will continue increasing over decades.
“you want to own and sit on it for decades because water is a scarce resource, in particular in Australia, and the value will always be increasing.”
Listen at 17:57
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian water entitlementsPositive18:05
Water values will continue increasing because water is scarce in Australia.
“the value will always be increasing.”
Listen at 18:05
Australian private equity has outperformed US, European, and Asian private equity for a decade.
“Australian private equity has remained for a decade top performer compared to the US, compared to Europe and Asia.”
Listen at 18:27
- Dania Zinurovaon Healthcare businesses and assetsPositive21:43
Demand for healthcare businesses and assets will likely remain strong in ten years.
“In 10 years' time, do we still have strong demand for healthcare businesses or healthcare assets? Very likely so.”
Listen at 21:43
- Dania Zinurovaon Australian infrastructure assetsPositive21:55
Australian demand for infrastructure assets will likely remain strong in ten years.
“In 10 years' time, do we still have strong demand in Australia for infrastructure assets? Tall roads, airports, prisons, schools? Very likely so.”
Listen at 21:55
- Dania Zinurovaon Private-market investmentsPositive25:32
Private-investment value upside usually emerges after three years.
“It doesn't come in one year, two years, three years. Usually it comes after three years.”
Listen at 25:32
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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