Beyond the Blue Chips

By Jeremy Caplan

For armchair speculators bored with Wall Street and willing to take calculated risks, a raft of spicy investment alternatives has emerged. You no longer need millions to bank on Picassos or ride the fortunes of a good Bordeaux.

ART Unless you're plugged into a network of art dealers, buying into the market can be tricky, no matter how sharp your eye. But new art funds, such as London's Fine Art Fund, manage the selection and trading from a pooled fund. Downside: you can't hang the paintings at home.

14.5% - 2005 gain for the Mei/Moses Art Index, based on repeat sales of artwork at auction

HEDGE FUNDS Like mutual funds, hedge funds are pooled investments, primarily in publicly traded securities. But they're generally more aggressive, employing riskier strategies such as trading options and selling short. Once the province of multimillionaires, some new hedge-fund pools, like Rydex's SPhinX, are available for initial investments of $25,000.

9.29% - 2005 gain for the Hedge Fund Research Composite Index, tracking 1,800 funds

WINE Interested in liquid assets? Instead of just saving a Cabernet and toasting its ripened value, investors can buy into various wine funds, such as the Australian Wine Index. An initial investment of about $5,000 includes shipping, insurance and storage.

11.2% - 2005 rise in value of the Vintage Wine Fund, a wine-investment pool

GOLD With bullion prices rising to levels not seen since 1983, traditional investors have shown renewed interest in gold. But rather than hoarding bars or investing in mining-company stocks, online traders can buy shares in a new gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) called Streettracks Gold Trust, which mirrors the price of gold. Available on the New York Stock Exchange, ETF shares are easy to buy and sell. A similar ETF for silver has been proposed but not yet introduced.

17.8% - 2005 rise in the value of gold

SPORTS In its inaugural season, Protrade.com's market lets investors trade shares in athletes whose "earnings" are mapped according to their on-field performance. Prices move up and down based on demand, and players earn dividends based on their statistics. For instance, shares in Shaun Alexander, left, rose steadily this season, as he helped the Seattle Seahawks reach the Super Bowl. The market is still in its infancy, but it's already rewarding smart "virtual" investments with cash prizes.

64.8% - 2005 gain in Alexander's simulated stock valuation on Protrade.com

MANY HAPPY RETURNS With interest rates rising, bank CDs are a safe investment choice for the risk averse. A six-month CD from ETrade.com now earns 4.75% APY, one of the highest short-term CD rates nationwide. o PayPal.com offers a money-market account with a rate of 4.38%, no minimum deposit and no withdrawal fee, but it is not FDIC insured. o Check Bankrate.com to compare and evaluate CD and savings-account rates.