Yieldstreet Review 2023 – High-Yield Alternative Asset Investments

In the past, you typically needed a lot of capital if you wanted to invest in alternative asset classes like fine art, real estate, or venture capital.
However, alternative crowdfunding platforms like Yieldstreet are changing this barrier. With Yieldstreet, you can invest in a diversified portfolio of alternative asset classes starting with just $2,500. The platform also offers direct deals for accredited investors looking to spice up their portfolios beyond stocks and ETFs.
But investing in alternative asset classes isn't something you should do lightly. That's why our Yieldstreet review is covering how this platform works, the pros and cons, and pricing to help you make your decision.
Yieldstreet Review
Commission & Fees - 7
Customer Service - 7
Ease of Use - 8
Diversification - 9
Amount of Deals - 8
Due Diligence - 8
8
Total
Pros & Cons
pros
cons
What Is Yieldstreet?
Yieldstreet is a platform that connects investors with alternative investments across asset classes such as artwork, cryptocurrency, litigation finance, real estate, and consumer finance. The company began in 2014. Since inception, it's seen over $3 billion funded on the platform and had a 9.71% net annualized return (IRR).
The company's goal is to make alternative investments more accessible and streamlined. You can invest in a variety of individual deals on Yieldstreet or its Prism Fund, which provides exposure to numerous asset classes.
YieldStreet also lets you create goal-based portfolios, like its income or growth portfolio model, to help you pick assets that match your investing goals.
Who Is Yieldstreet For?
There are plenty of alternative asset investing platforms out there these days. For example, you can use Masterworks to invest in fine art, or Fundrise to invest in commercial real estate.
However, Yieldstreet is one of the few platforms that consolidates the range of alternative assets under one roof. It's an excellent option if you want to dabble in numerous asset classes without managing multiple accounts with different companies. And since Yieldstreet's team finds and vets deals, it saves you a lot of research and due diligence time.
Yieldstreet Investment Opportunities
One advantage of Yieldstreet is that it offers a variety of funds as well as individual deals. If you want to diversify your portfolio, its funds are the best option. Currently, there are seven multi-asset class funds to choose from:
- Yieldstreet Prism Fund: This flagship fund has a $2,500 minimum investment requirement and is open to non-accredited investors. It's a fixed-income portfolio across numerous asset classes like art, real estate, and commercial and consumer finance.
- Art Equity Fund IV: With a $15,000 minimum, this fund lets you invest in a portfolio of artwork from famous contemporary artists.
- SFR Diversified Fund I: This fund also has a $15,000 minimum and invests in a portfolio of single family rentals in numerous U.S. markets.
- Enhanced Crypto Fund: Contains five to ten of the largest cryptocurrencies by market cap and also requires $15,000 to invest.
- Growth & Income REIT: This non-traded REIT has a $5,000 minimum and makes equity investments in a range of real estate properties across the United States.
- Specialty Finance Fund II: This fund invests in finance transactions in commercial and consumer sectors and has a $25,000 minimum.
- StepStone Venture Capital Fund I: A portion of this fund is managed by StepStone Group Inc. which is a massive alternative asset management company focusing on venture capital investments. There's a $25,000 minimum investment requirement.
Yieldstreet also has plenty of individual offerings as well, and some are very unique. For example, you can help finance various supply chain orders as a form of private credit lending. And right now, you can invest in private shares of Fetch Rewards, a leading grocery rewards app, through its Series E funding round.
Yieldstreet also lets you invest in structured notes, which are debt instruments tied to the performance of an underlying security like an index. These provide short-term investments and regular income if that's your goal.
Overall, Yieldstreet has an impressive number of offerings. And offerings suit growth, income, and balanced investing styles.
What Makes Yieldstreet Great?
With over 300,000 customers, Yieldstreet is one of the most popular marketplaces for alternative investments. And this popularity isn't surprising when you consider its numerous advantages.
Yieldstreet Prism Fund
One of Yieldstreet's main draws is its Prism Fund, which provides exposure to numerous alternative investments like:
- Art
- Commercial investments
- Consumer goods
- Legal finance
- Real estate
- Transportation
As of June 30th 2022, the Prism Fund has over $113 million in assets under management. It also has an 8% annual distribution rate and pays quarterly distributions that you can reinvest automatically or cash out. Fees are also lower than many individual deals on the platform at 1.5% per year.
If you want a simple way to add numerous asset classes to your portfolio, this is the fund for you. And the 8% average annaual distribution rate isn't anything to scoff at.
Low Investment Requirement
Most Yieldstreet investments require $15,000 or more to invest, as well as being an accredited investor. However the main Prism Fund only requires $2,500 and is open to non-accredited investors. And this fund provides ample diversification, making it an excellent starting point for alternative asset investing.
Goal-Based Portfolios
Another advantage of Yieldstreet is that it has useful filters to help you build a portfolio that matches your investing goals and level of risk tolerance.
When you browse for offers, you can use filters to sort for assets that provide income, growth, or balanced returns. You can also answer a short questionnaire about your goals and investing style to let Yieldstreet make tailored recommendations.
The end result is that you can build a diversified portfolio that matches your desired returns and holding period.
Deal Vetting Process
While it's not apparent on the surface, much of the benefit you get with Yieldstreet is the team's rigorous due diligence process that goes on behind the scenes.
Before anything makes it to Yieldstreet's marketplace, it passes a five-stage vetting process. Few opportunities make it through the first stage of review by Yieldstreet's originations team. From there, the team does a deep dive into the offering and considers factors like:
- Management team experience
- Exit strategy
- Previous and current track record
- Alignment of interest
- Investment thesis
Yieldstreet also generally targets firms with $50 million to $2 billion or more in deployed capital, so it's not offering small fish without any track record to investors.
There's even more consideration and due diligence that goes on in later stages. And Yieldstreet provides plenty of offer information and documents to help you do your own due diligence before you decide to invest or not.
Variety of Term Lengths
On Yieldstreet, you can invest in short-term structured notes or funds that have holding periods of five years or longer. This variety means there's something for everyone regardless of if you're investing for the short-term or your future.
What Are Yieldstreet's Drawbacks?
Despite being one of the leading alternative investment platforms, there are two main downsides to Yieldstreet you should consider before investing.
Options For Non-Accredited Investors
The only option for non-accredited investors on Yieldstreet is its Prism Fund. The lower investing requirement makes up for this slightly, but it would be nice if more funds and individual deals were available for non-accredited investors.
Liquidity
One downside of alternative asset investing versus investing in assets like stocks or ETFs is liquidity. Alternative assets are generally illiquid, meaning it's hard or impossible to sell them before the holding period is up.
With Yieldstreet, most investments are illiquid and don't let you sell shares early. The main exception is the Prism Fund, which offers quarterly share buybacks at Yieldstreet's discretion.
But generally, your Yieldstreet investments are not eligible for early selling, so you're locked-in to the holding period.
Yieldstreet Pricing & Fees
To make money, Yieldstreet charges an annual management fee of up to 2.5% on investment opportunities. Some offerings, like short-term notes, have a 0% management fee. But Yieldstreet effectively decides how much it charges per asset. There are also annual fund expenses investors pay, but these are charges from the investment's cash flow.
However, offerings on Yieldstreet show a target return that is net of all management fees. This means you don't really notice them since they're factored into the advertised returns. But you're still paying up to 2.5% in annual management fees, and Yieldstreet outlines its fees on every offering page.
How to Open an Account
There are three steps to open a Yieldstreet account
- Verify your identity with a photo of government ID
- Link your bank account
- Verify your accreditation status if you want to invest in offerings besides the Prism Fund
Is Yieldstreet Legit?
Yes, Yieldstreet is a legitimate alternative investing platform with thousands of investors and a strong track record of returns. It offers an easier way for accredited and non-accredited investors to diversify their portfolios with a range of assets.
The main drawback of Yieldstreet is that most investments have high minimums in the $10,000 to $15,000 range. However, the Prism Fund is more beginner-friendly at just $2,500.
How to Contact Yieldstreet
You can reach Yieldstreet customer support by emailing investments@yieldstreet.com or by calling 844-943-5378.
Best Alternatives
Yieldstreet is a reliable way to invest in alternative assets in a taxable account or with your IRA. However, it's far from your only option. And depending on the asset class you're most interested in, there are several Yieldstreet competitors worth considering.
Fundrise
If you want to invest in real estate with little money, Fundrise is our favorite Yieldstreet alternative. This leading crowdfunding platform lets you start investing with just $10. It also provides numerous funds, letting you diversify your portfolio with commercial and residential real estate.
You get paid quarterly dividends as an investor, and your shares can appreciate. And Fundrise also has a secondary marketplace to improve liquidity. For fees, it charges 1% annually. Historical returns are around 8% to 11% on average.
Get Started With Fundrise
This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on Investor Junkie. All opinions are our own.Alto
You can invest with your IRA with Yieldstreet, and it costs $299 annually for accounts under $100,000. But you can also use Alto IRA to invest in numerous alternative asset classes all within your IRA.
We like Alto because it works with 75+ alternative investment partners, giving you access to artwork, fine wine, real estate, venture capital, and other asset classes. It also has a new Alto CryptoIRA product that lets you invest in 100+ popular cryptocurrencies.
You pay either $10 or $25 per month depending on your plan level with Alto's main IRA plan. If you're only interested in IRA investing, we suggest comparing Alto's offers to Yieldstreet.
Masterworks
If you want to invest in artwork, one of the best Yieldstreet alternatives is Masterworks. This platform lets you invest in blue-chip artwork and has delivered 14.3% annual returns since its inception in 2019.
The company is open to non-accredited investors and has numerous offerings you can partake in. And there's also a secondary marketplace to help improve liquidity. For fees, Masterworks charges 1.5% annually plus 20% of future profits when pieces sell. Overall, it's a very beginner-friendly way to add fine art into your portfolio and has more offerings than Yieldstreet.
Get Started With Masterworks
Summary
For investing in a variety of alternative assets, it's hard to beat Yieldstreet. Many platforms only focus on one type of asset, but with Yieldstreet, you get a variety of funds and individual deals to diversify your portfolio.
The company also has an in-depth due diligence process and transparent pricing. And the fact you can invest with your IRA or an taxable account keeps things flexible.
That said, you still need to understand the risks of different alternative assets. These are highly illiquid investments, and Yieldstreet doesn't guarantee returns. So, make sure you do your own due diligence and think about how much of your portfolio you want in alternative assets before taking the plunge.
I made 3 investments with Yieldstreet and all 3 are in default. Say no more.
I have invested 50K in one of this company’s offers last year. Now they are telling me that my principal is lost because the borrower was a fraud and working partial return of my principal. Just think about it: you gave them 50K and they return you 2.5K in interests and losing your principal. That’s a sure way to become a lose all your money. Avoid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was a big mistake to put any money into this company’s offer.
It is a hard lesson for me. Currently, I have a total of 11 investments with Yieldstreet’s offers – a total of five in default and another three in reduced payments. There was little communication if you try to get any detail with the defaulted investments and the information from the monthly update was also limited. It is not clear to me whether and when I can get any money back from those investments.
We should work together to file a lawsuit against the company which has misled investors to put their money into those high-risk investments, especially marine financing.
I invested $15000 @ 11% in sept 2017 in Commercial Financing I. First few quarters I got promised interest and partial principal and then payments stopped due to clients financial problems.
Once in a while I get communication about steps yieldstreet is taking but no results. As of today I have my $13500 principal and $3000+ accrued interest pending. I don’t care about interest. I will be happy if I get my hard earned principal back.
I believe the majority of the marine finance deals are in default, fraud or having to restructure payments. I have seen consistent poor due diligence, next to zero communication. If your only investment option is YIELDSTREET, I suggest you open your window, throw your money out the window. In a couple of days go for a walk and you have a better chance of recovering your money than you do with YIELDSTREET.
I invested early with Yieldstreet and they did due diligence. That is no longer the case. I have lost 2 investments due to fraud. They were scammed by the borrower. Overseas criminals are using Yieldstreet because they either over their heads or too desperate to put together deals. Today I would not recommend investing any money.
I too am getting the run around on the Vessel Deconstruction 3 Investment!!!! All I am asking for is an honest update on this deal!!!! I also feel like the fees are way too high and the end result is no where near the 8-9-10% that you think!!!
Please, keep away from these people. Deal after deal falls through, poor underwriting, total obfuscation when it comes to communication. There are better places for your money.
I invested in a marine vessel deconstruction financing deal that was due to mature in September. It’s not the middle of January and we have not received our principal back. For the first coupe months Yieldstreet said the deal was delayed because of bad weather. I was wondering where does weather affect a port for months? Sounded highly improbable. Now, a couple months later they are saying that regulations on the Indian subcontinent and surrounding areas have meant that banks can no longer issue letters of credit, which are needed to our vessels to actually be paid for. I do not believe that banks in India can’t issue letters of credit. I have begged Yieldstreet for months to simply be honest and tell me (us) what’s going on with this investment, but they refuse. They keep the bad news to themselves and drag this on, so they won’t hurt their other deals or their business. I do not trust this organization. Fees are high. You have to be lightning quick on the keyboard to get an allocation to any deal. I don’t recommend.
I invested in the Vessel Deconstruction III as well and have been getting the same runaround. They won’t tell me why a six month investment has lingered for 11 months. They haven’t given an official update on the project since November and I’m concerned that I won’t get any of my principal back. I would avoid Yieldstreet altogether.
How is the investment doing now? Did you find out if you will get your principle back?
What happened here? Was Yieldstreet able to recover your principal?
I’m in the same boat! I do not recommend it! I feel like I was scammed!
I’m in the same boat with the Marine Vessel Deconstruction Deal. Now they are saying it was fraud. I’m sick to my stomach. Do you know if we have any recourse against YieldStreet for negligence?
Did you return your principal?
same for me. I do not trust them at all. loosing money in Vessel Acquisition II and Commercial Real estate portfolio VI .. Commercial real estate portfolio VI is in default and vessel aquisition ii is in modified outlook. I was hopeful to retrieve my principal back on Vessel aquisition , but after their recent update on end of june , i now doubt!. I was crazy enough to invest with them!
I have two investments with YieldStreet adn both are having problems. One has had a default and the second has been extended beyond the original term. I am pulling whatever money I can get our of the account, asap. I would not invest with them and I am glad that word is making its way out onto the internet. Avoid!
what are the investments having trouble
Yieldstreet is possibly a fraud
I work in the financial services / investment management industry – and have been an investor in Yieldstreet (YS) since May 2018. Based on my professional experience in investment management and personal experience as an investory in YS – I believe YS shows many signs of being a fraud – of a few different kinds.
First kind – funky accounting.
I have invested 40k in 2 deals – which according to them have returned 10% annually. Except when I crunch the math based on the balances credited to the account to date – they have paid more like 4%.
But that’s not the worst part.
Second kind – unreliable terms.
Namely the investments do not mature as described. The first investment that I made in May 2018 had a stated term of 24 months. In March 2020 – almost 22 months later – that same investment has an “estimated term remaining” of 14 months. So somewhere in the interim – this investment went from 24 to 36 months. Now – when they made this change – they sent out reams of fine-print about this to cover their asses. But – to an investor in an illiquid and nonredeemable product where you have no choice but to accept these shenanigans … that is not a real choice.
But even this is not the worst part !
Third kind – straight up good ol’ fashion scam .
The second investment I made was in their Louisiana Oil and Gas Financing deal. On paper this is what they show me :
Current investment value: $21,413.35
Principal Outstanding: $19,211.92
Investment Interest Accrued: $2,201.43
Target Interest Rate: 11.00%
Estimated Term Remaining: 3 Mo.
Except that this company is bankrupt and has not been making any payments what so ever and possibly will never pay back any portion of the principal. All these returns that they show on the website are pure fantasy. And what about this bit : “Estimated Term Remaining : 3Mo” — that’s high comedy right there!
More importantly – there has been no communication from Yieldstreet on this. At all. Total silence. I’ve tried getting in touch with their support on multiple occasions – but have never heard back.
Again – as I said – I’m in the investment management industry and am no stranger to investments turned sour. But just be upfront about it and communicate to your investors what is going on. Showing these paper gains – while the money has disappeared – that is just straight up Madoff-category fraud.
I’m planning on filing a complaint against them with FINRA and maybe even filing a lawsuit. I was wondering if other people have had the same experience and if anyone would be interested in joining the complaint / lawsuit.
I’m very close in joining you. I am having experience with them investing 50K in vessel deconstruction and is defaulted by 6 months now. I am afraid YieldStreet will not return my principal and it was a setup from the very beginning.
2 of my loans are now defaulting do to fraud and the assets are unretrievable. I’m not sure what there is to be done about it but if you have any suggestions I’m all ears.
As an investor with Yieldstreet, the yield that they show is not NET OF ALL FEES, as this review claims, they charge $100-$150 for the first year in account expenses, regardless of the amount invested, and $30-$75/year after that for each year. This is ON TOP of the 1.5%+ they take off the top. So if the investment yields 14%, you may loose 0.5% to the originator, and then 1-2% to Yieldstreet, so ending up with 11.5% interest for yourself, and then pay another $100-$150 in other fees.
Especially their Real Estate financing, can have $10k minimums, and if you are automatically allocated, it can still be just $10k, so that $100, ends up being another 1% in fees just for the paperwork, or whatever they claim they need it for.
Their customer service is pretty poor, when they make mistakes, they won’t apologize, they’ve disappeared and not responded for days when I’m trying to ask specifics questions about an investment…they were “busy” getting ready for the launch of that offering. Different people will give you different stories, which is one thing when it’s FEDEX looking for a package, and another when it’s an investment.
As a review, it’s ok, after all the fees, there are better investments out there, with better liquidity, and better risk/reward ratios, as you can keep all the risk premiums (yield %), BUT that’s what you are paying them for, so if you don’t want to do the work, you’ll pay them 1%, 2%, 3% for it.
As an alternative investment, sometimes I’ll wiling to put up with their nonsense.
What other platforms would you recommend?
Any thoughts on the yieldstreet wallet offering daily 2% interest available to all as opposed to say ally bank savings.
I would like to know that too, I’m wondering myself I have an Amex personal savings…
This is my favorite part, I’ll leave cash their at 2.2%, it used to show me how much I was making per day, but they decided to “clean up” the interface, and no we don’t see it. I liked that aspect, but you can still find that info in your account. The downside is you have to wait a few days for it to transfer. When I go from MARCUS (Goldman Sachs) which is also +2% for an online checking account, it’s in my Schwab account the next day or so, with YS, it’s takes a few days to process. So it’s better than your normal BofA or Chase branch account, but you’ll need to give it a few days to have access. Unless you invest with it, then it’s all good.
Well done thorough review. Just wondering why Yieldstreet only earned a three start rating?
I would also give it 2-3 stars, and I have under 7 figures with them. It’s great for people who aren’t really educated / sophisticated investors. If you want to invest in asset backed offerings, they make it easy, but you pay them well for doing so.
They are an ALTERNATIVE, so we still invest directly in some shipping, oil and gas, etc and doing the due diligence is time consuming and has costs, so there have been a few good investments where I’ve been willing to pay their fees for the work they’ve done. My biggest issue (besides customer service) is not being able to get allocations, or get allocations large enough. There’s huge demand for the good ones, and it’ll literally sell out in seconds. Their automated investment system is nice, but smaller allocations, so their extra fees add up.
$10k investment – $100 is 1% in extra fees
$100k investment – $100 is 0.1% in extra fees
$1m investment – $100 is 0.01% in extra fees
Based on my short experience with YieldStreet, I have made only one conclusion is that the company is a sure way of losing your principals. I would avoid this company and never deal with them again!!!!