Managed futures refers to an investment where a portfolio of futures contracts is actively managed by professionals. Managed futures are considered an alternative investment and are often used by funds and institutional investors to provide both portfolio and market diversification.

 
Managed futures provide this portfolio diversification by offering exposure to asset classes to help mitigate portfolio risk in a way that is not possible in direct capital investments like stocks and bonds. The performance of managed futures tends to be weakly or inversely correlated with traditional stock and bond markets, making them ideal investments to round out a portfolio constructed according to modern portfolio theory.

Private equity involves investing in companies that are not publicly traded, often through acquiring them outright or investing in them to improve their performance and then selling them for a profit. It's a form of private capital used to finance long-term investment strategies in illiquid businesses.