Explore an alternative investments timeline

The first private equity fund was launched in 1960

At the time, the industry—and the public's understanding of it—was rather limited, and few private equity firms existed until the 1980s. The first leveraged buyout is thought to have taken place in 1955.

A hedge funds timeline, from the 1940s onward

Since Alfred Winslow Jones formed the first hedge fund in 1949, traders have rolled out an increasingly complex array of investment strategies. They all aim to beat increasingly efficient markets and/or to provide ample downside protection against sell-offs.

Explore a guide to investing in alternatives

Investors often use alternative investments, from collectibles to real estate, as a way to diversify their portfolios in case of market volatility. Getting started investing in these alternatives differs depending on the investment.

Pension funds' allocations to risky, alternative investments increased by 25% between 2001 and 2021

The portion of pension funds' risky investments, including alternative investments such as private equity, increased from 14% in 2001 to 39% in 2021. Analysts say private equity investments have delivered higher returns than traditional assets like stocks and bonds. Increased investment in private equity has also given pensions a way to recover from the 2008 financial crisis without necessarily investing more money.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Key moments in fintech history include the transatlantic cable’s invention and E-Trade’s founding

Founded in 1982, E-Trade was the first-ever online brokerage, pioneering a method of investing that is common today. Its story is part of a timeline that the New York Times put together of key moments in early fintech history.

From 19th-century whalers to startup accelerators, venture capital has a pretty exciting history

While the aforementioned whaling industry has a lot of similarities to today’s venture fund models, the first modern venture capital firm wasn’t founded until 1946.

A stock market timeline

The stock market has come a long way since the 1600s, when the first version of a stock exchange was created in Amsterdam. Mile markers along the way include everything from the Dow Jones Industrial Average's creation in 1896 to the stock market woes during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

How JPMorgan Chase became America's biggest bank

From the railroad and steel consolidations brokered by John Pierpont Morgan on Wall Street more than a century ago, to the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the financial crisis, and Jamie Dimon’s leadership, J.P. Morgan Chase has been at the center of finance for more than a century.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Read how Vanguard's founder used the S&P 500 to revolutionize retail investing

John Bogle, the founder of The Vanguard Group, created a fund that tracked the S&P 500 in 1976. That fund created an unprecedented opportunity for individual retail investors, brought down fees across the board, and popularized the belief that passive, low-cost index fund investments would outperform actively managed portfolios long-term.

One $100 investment in the Medallion Fund skyrockets over time

The Medallion Fund, the famously secretive quant fund that invests billions of dollars for the partners and employees of a single firm with a legendary track record, has trounced the market for more than three decades. While its results are an extreme outlier, this visualization showcases the power of compound interest.

More than half of today’s family offices were incorporated after 2010

Family offices are impacting capital markets as private wealth grows. Compared to other financial entities, they have a relatively high allocation to alternatives.

American Express briefly owned Lehman Brothers

In 1984, Shearson, a retail banking company and American Express subsidiary, bought the investment banking company Lehman Brothers—best known for its historic 2008 collapse—for $360M. The businesses were then called Shearson Lehman/American Express. American Express spun off Lehman Brothers with an IPO in 1994 that attracted nearly $3B in new capital.

A deep dive into Enron, one of the largest accounting scandals in history

Investing comes with great opportunities for reward, but it also carries great risk. Investors learned that the hard way when Enron collapsed. Everyone lost money—from the largest institutions on Wall Street to mom-and-pop investors who bought S&P 500 index funds. This series from American Scandal starts with a close-up into an investment manager at Enron who started to unravel the accounting scandal happening behind the scenes. Listen here.

Explore a Sears historical timeline

Sears has existed for over 130 years, and is remembered for much more than its 2018 bankruptcy, from the Sears and Roebuck’s catalog to Discover Card and Allstate Insurance.

Explore a giant ETF database

Given that there are more than 3,000 ETFs trading in the US, the list of options for individual investors may be overwhelming. VettaFi provides a database that allows potential investors to sort funds by sector, region, strategy, fund issuers, and more. It tracks nearly 100 funds focused on general technology but just one that focuses on copper mining.

How John D. Rockefeller became the world's first billionaire

From a young age, John D. Rockefeller knew he was interested in business. He worked as a bookkeeper and sold candy prior to starting the business empire that would help cement the Rockefeller name in history: Standard Oil.

Meet Alphonse Desjardins, a credit union pioneer

The first credit union opened in Germany in 1864, but the bank alternative didn’t reach North America until 1901. That’s when Canadian journalist Alphonse Desjardins introduced the concept to his hometown with a starter 10-cent deposit. Desjardins helped launch the first US credit union just eight years later. This engaging timeline highlights Desjardins, his contributions to credit unions, and how the institutions have evolved over the last 100-plus years. Scroll through the timeline here.

Value investing is the strategy of buying assets you believe are worth more than their current price

Famed investor Warren Buffett is known for building his empire with this strategy, which he learned from his mentor Benjamin Graham.

The bond market dates back to the 1100s in Venice

In the early 1800s, bonds were used to fund US railroads and canals in Great Britain. “Liberty Bonds” were sold during both World Wars in the 20th century. Learning about the early and modern history of bonds can offer a glimpse into how the modern bond market came to be.

Explore Bessemer's anti-portfolio of missed opportunities

From Pinterest to Yelp, Bessemer Venture Partners—one of the most well-known VC firms—has invested in many successful companies over the years. But the firm has also kicked itself for passing on a few great opportunities, like Apple and Google. Check out the other companies in Bessemer's "anti-portfolio" here.

The term ‘angel investor’ is thought to have originated with Broadway plays

The first so-called angel investors funded theatrical productions. Now, angels invest in startups at an early stage, hoping their investment will pay off in the future.

Special-purpose acquisition companies let companies skirt the IPO process

A video explains how private companies have taken advantage of this loophole, why investing in these companies isn’t always a good idea, and how blank-check companies (as they’re commonly called) work.

Famed American investor Jesse Livermore made millions when the stock market crashed in 1929

Livermore made his first major short against rail company Union Pacific in 1906, coincidentally before an earthquake in San Francisco, which ultimately tanked share prices. During a financial panic the next year, JP Morgan reportedly asked Livermore to increase his long-term investments to restore hope and restabilize the market—which Livermore did. However, Livermore began betting against the market in 1929, sensing that stocks were too hot, and was one of the few people to benefit from the 1929 stock crash.

A 6-liter bottle of wine once sold for $1M

Some fine wines are considered alternative investments that could grow in value over time.

Explaining the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank—the nation's 16th largest bank at the time—collapsed after a rapid run on its deposits. Among other factors, the bank had placed more than half of its investments into long-term bonds, leaving it without the necessary cash on hand as its clients, largely start ups, panicked and withdrew their money at the same time. This visualization lays out the timeline and impact of the collapse.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight