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  In a recent blog post, Damodaran highlighted concerns over alternative assets, urging scepticism about the retail push into complex investment vehicles like private equity and hedge funds. Alternative investments-ranging from private equity and hedge funds to real estate, crypto, and collectibles-have seen massive inflows over the past two decades as investors chased diversification and higher returns. The NYU professor dismantled the rose-tinted case for alternatives, arguing that their touted benefits are often oversold. He highlights how high fees, complex structures, and opaque strategies are common across the space, saying many managers "first need their heads examined and then summarily fired" for paying two-and-twenty style fees with mediocre returns. Damodaran warned investors to be wary of unrealistic assumptions about time horizons and liquidity. Alternatives might suit large institutions with stable cash flows, but retail investors often find themselves needing money at the worst possible time, when these assets are least liquid. He remarked, "Even savvy institutional investors... are questioning whether private equity, hedge funds and venture capital have become too big and are too costly to be value-adding." Damodaran has consistently advocated for education over solicitation, reinforcing his preference for valuation-based investment strategies rather than speculative tactics. In April, he revealed his methodical approach to investing during market downturns, discussing his use of limit orders for companies like BYD and Palantir. He cautioned against reckless investment behaviours, likening them to "the art of catching a falling knife," and stressed that careful valuation should guide decisions.