12 years in banking...mgmt, investments, lending, commercial, 5 state ins (annuity) lisc here.
I know very little about the alternative investments you are speaking of, I have not looked into them much.
I know this, history repeats itself...over n over again. All nations currency has been devalued...were talking pennies on the dollar...no not because of inflation but rife overspending...
Look at it this way...first a person can invest in them selves...work out you get muscle, diet you loose weight..etc..those are solid investments. Next a person can invest in his family...train your children, work at a good relationship....same principles. Next you have your neighborhood, work now comes into play, you make a name for yourself (family name) to insure that you can trade with other worthy famillies..lets say barter here...a way to survive a well rounded life with out trying to do everything.... Would a family at this point, invest 3 months of hard labor in a family with no proven history or trade for a commodity that you are not familiar with...BUT ONLY THE VALUE THAT FAMILY PUTS ON IT.
Next you have your town, then cty, then county, the state...etc, etc, etc.
What I am getting at is that man has for thousands of years has learned were to safely invest their funds...wether it be barter, labor or investment in a family with a proven name n commodity.
Ponzi...snake oil...pyramid....enron (LOL) will always be appealing at first offering unbelievable return and appear valuable...but the problem is all of these are investments in that new family in the neighborhood that have not shown that they are worthy of trade, by time n test BUT they offer you a higher return higher then all of your neiborhood families that have established themselves.
As i read this I don't think I am making any cense...but hey read it and think about it for a minute and maybe what I am trying to say will shine through.