Alternative investments are high priced items like art and sports cars that investors seek to collect and possibly profit from. Our view is that you can't really invest in art or cars. An investment is something that may one day produce income – dividends from stocks, interest from bonds, rent from real estate, and so on. Art and similar alternative investments produce no income. In fact, art and expensive cars consumes income: you have to pay to insure and/or store it. It's also expensive to buy and sell. Unlike some other alternative investments, the supply of art keeps growing. Fashions change and buyers often prefer something new. So your artwork probably won't bring the price you need to show a profit. That's why profitable art investments are rare. The vast majority of art and automobiles depreciates from the time of its first sale. Purchasing an alternative investment like art or cars should always be thought of as a hobby, rather than an alternative source of income. For investment success, on the other hand, follow TSI Network and us our three-part Successful Investor strategy:

1. Invest mainly in well-established companies;
2. Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
3. Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

The key to finding the “hidden gems” in penny stocks is to understand and avoid the risks that go with them. You get the benefit of Pat McKeough's decades of experience-and his specific recommendations-in our special report, Canadian Penny Stocks: What You Need to Know about Handling the Risks and Reaping the Rewards, on TSI Network. Claim your FREE copy right now!