We wanted to highlight the first two items today as being particularly worth of a closer look.

breakingviews has a contrarian take on private equity, specifically BDCs (business development companies). After the rocky IPO of Apollo Investment (AINV) many PE firms pulled their offerings. Given the lead times involved in terms of filing for an IPO and the time needed to get a fund invested it may be a propitious time for these firms to step back up to the plate. A concerted rise in interest rates could make mezzanine loans all the more attractive.

One of our favorite themes is the value of broad asset class diversification. The Capital Spectator has an excellent piece demonstrating the value of broad asset class diversification, i.e. more than just stocks/bonds/cash.

macroblog notes the probabilities of Fed fund rate increases at the March, May and June meetings.

Nicholas Yulico at TheStreet.com reports on some forthcoming real estate focused hedge funds.

Eric Jacobson at Morningstar.com provides a primer on inflation protected bonds given the onset of a TIPs category.

Timothy Middleton at MSN Money looks to a couple of ways to invest in real estate while avoiding the typical REIT fund.

Roger Nusbaum at TheStreet.com highlights a vehicle that focuses on alternative energy while pointing out the very real risks of investing in a ‘hot’ sector.

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