Disappointing global economic growth in the recent past has moved central banks to intervene with aggressive monetary policy, fueling the drive toward riskier asset classes. The potential advantages to these types of exposure are many, and include dampening inflation risk, improving portfolio efficiency, accessing stable bond-like yields and participating in equity-like capital appreciation. Related: 7 Reasons Why an ETF is Today's Mutual Fund Alternative Financial advisors and individual investors are now following this wisdom and adding real assets to their portfolios, aided by two major factors.