They have a little higher gains (a lot more volatility) but a syndicator who is willing to put you in a deal with more than 10-20% of your net worth is asking for trouble.

Comes down to vetting the opportunity and the sponsor and trusting them with what they are doing and their comprehension of the asset class, market and plans in case of some market volatility. 

Also, rental properties are less volatile to market changes than fix and flip properties.

I also think that a side effect of what you are proposing is that the stock market would be less volatile and casino-like because people would be able to value companies on fundamentals again much more easily.

I would give Gold, Silver and even Copper a try if your heart can take the volatility, it depends on your age, investment goals, current financial situation, long term, short term goals. etc...If your older you might want something safer with a high paying dividend like D, Domionion Resources.

All of these crashes and the rollercoaster nature of the stockmarket make me wonder why the stock market is used an the preferred retirement investment vehicle of Americans.Sure it is a somewhat passive way to invest money..but the returns (for MOST people) aren't great, and there is so much volatility.

Here are lessons from America's richest family:Lessons From America's Richest FamilyNotice the stark contrast between people running for the hills and those embracing the volatility of the market.

So prices will continue to go down until the volatility is decreased.

Sure, the Stock market grows at 10% a year, but more than likely, you could catch a bad year because of volatility and it will take long for you to recover.

Paradoxically, the VAR models, based on history of moves and standard deviations, will now tend to overstate the risk associated with positions while volatility reverts back to its mean, but I would still raise the capital ratios and re-instate Glass.