The investment industry has responded by creating fund products based on non-traditional, less-liquid underlying assets that expand the range available to individual investors but also carry risks.19 Alternative, open-ended mutual funds are an interesting example. They appear to offer daily liquidity for underlying assets that can be very illiquid, such as commercial real estate or commercial bank loans.
The third factor I would like to mention briefly is that of culture and tradition. While I firmly believe that a nation without culture and tradition will be a lost nation, we should also recognize the fact that all cultures do evolve.