????但如今，投資市場正在經(jīng)歷一場廣泛而深遠的變化。很多投資者先是飽受互聯(lián)網(wǎng)泡沫破裂之苦，然后又是金融危機重?fù)?，發(fā)誓再也不入股市投資。說他們再也不信賴華爾街或金融機構(gòu)，還算是輕的。有一小部分（但不容忽視的）投資者認(rèn)為，這個體系存在非法操縱現(xiàn)象。

????正如茶黨(Tea Party)的誕生象征、推動了對現(xiàn)有政治權(quán)力結(jié)構(gòu)的逆襲，投資世界也出現(xiàn)了逆襲，但并沒有茶黨這樣的一個派別可以用來命名這個過程，或者使它能夠上升到國家層面的重要地位。投資界的這一逆襲表現(xiàn)為一些投資者對共同基金、股票和債券喪失信心，正在緩慢但難以阻擋的撤離——將資金撤出他們一直被建議投資的主流機構(gòu)，轉(zhuǎn)向通常所謂的另類投資之中。此類投資選擇廣泛，包括止贖屋、個人按揭貸款、本票、稅務(wù)留置權(quán)證書、外匯基金、私人合伙權(quán)益、貴金屬交易以及保單貼現(xiàn)投資（收購他人壽險保單，希望在被保險人身故后投資人能獲得收益）。

????這個廣闊投資領(lǐng)域的增長不可否認(rèn)，但尚未有行業(yè)團體匯總得出這類資產(chǎn)的數(shù)據(jù)?！皵?shù)據(jù)呈爆炸式增長，”美國證券交易委員會（Securities and Exchange Commission）投資教育和宣傳總監(jiān)羅莉·肖克表示。自主個人退休賬戶（IRA）的資產(chǎn)已大幅增長；此類賬戶比傳統(tǒng)IRA的規(guī)定寬松，常常被用于持有另類投資。據(jù)美國證券交易委員會估計，全部IRA資產(chǎn)約有2%（約1,020億美元）目前隸屬于自主IRA中。

????這類投資在投資界被稱為“越野駕駛”，給人一種解放和自由的感覺。同時，倡導(dǎo)者稱，這些投資比傳統(tǒng)市場更賺錢。這里沒有大量的限速標(biāo)識——而且?guī)缀跻矝]有警察。而這是一個問題。很多另類投資不受旨在保護股票和共同基金投資者的種種監(jiān)管條例約束。兜售此類投資機會的人很少有法律義務(wù)（或者干脆沒有）披露任何風(fēng)險信息。

????新一波投資浪潮和缺少保護機制不可避免地將出現(xiàn)違規(guī)現(xiàn)象?！拔覀兛吹剑墼p行為正在轉(zhuǎn)移陣地，”美國聯(lián)邦調(diào)查局（FBI）經(jīng)濟犯罪部門負(fù)責(zé)人詹姆斯·巴納克說?！斑^去是依托于股票和其他證券，如今正在轉(zhuǎn)到另類投資和商品市場。我們必然將看到這類投資欺詐行為的上升?！?/p>

????美國證券交易委員會和美國證券監(jiān)管機構(gòu)將它視為一項足夠嚴(yán)峻的威脅，2011年他們發(fā)出了一項特別警告稱，“針對自主IRA的投資欺詐報告或投訴最近呈現(xiàn)增長趨勢?！?/p>

????譯者：楊智

????But there's a profound change afoot today. Many investors, traumatized first?by the dotcom bust, then again by?the financial crisis, have vowed never to return to the stock markets. To say they no longer trust Wall Street or the financial establishment would be an understatement. A small but significant minority believe the system is rigged.

????Just as?the birth of the Tea Party?embodied and propelled a revolt against the political establishment, there's been a simultaneous investing revolt -- without a party to name it or lift it to national prominence. The revolt can be seen in the slow but seemingly inexorable exodus by some frustrated investors out of?mutual funds,?stocks, and?bonds?-- out of every mainstream institution responsible they have been counseled to put their faith in -- and into what are often called alternative investments. These include a broad array of choices: foreclosed homes, personal mortgage loans, promissory notes, tax-lien certificates, foreign-exchange funds, private partnership interests, precious-metals trading pools, and so-called viatical settlements (other people's life insurance policies acquired in the hopes that the insured will depart quickly so that the investor can cash in).

????The growth in this broad category of investing is undeniable, though there's no trade group that consolidates the statistics for such disparate assets. "The numbers are exploding," says Lori Schock, director of the office of investor education and advocacy at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Assets in so-called?self-directed IRAs, which have looser rules than traditional IRAs and are often used to hold alternative investments, have swelled. According to an SEC estimate, about 2% of all IRA assets -- some $102 billion -- is now in self-directed IRAs.

????Driving off-road, in investing terms, can feel liberating, and advocates say it's more profitable than traditional markets. There aren't a lot of speed limits -- and almost no cops around. And that's a problem. Many alternative investments aren't governed by the regulations intended to protect investors in stocks and mutual funds. A person peddling such an opportunity may have little or no legal obligation to disclose anything about its dangers.

????A wave of new investment combined with few protections inevitably means one thing: misbehavior. "We're seeing a transition of the frauds these days," says James Barnacle, chief of the FBI's economic crimes unit. "They had been based on equities and other securities before. Now they're going to alternative investments and commodities markets. We're definitely seeing an increase in these investment frauds."

????The SEC and state securities regulators view it as a grave enough concern that, in 2011, they issued a special alert noting a "recent increase in reports or complaints of fraudulent investment schemes that utilized a self-directed IRA as a key feature."