The analysts at broker Stifel made a good point this week about the differential in discount rates that's opened up between alternative assets trusts and plain vanilla equity ones. Whereas until two years ago the ratings on alternatives were generally superior, and often traded at premiums, while equity trusts were less handsomely rated, the reverse is now the case.  Has this switchback gone too far?

Discount opportunities continued The story of the past 18 months is neatly captured in the chart that Stifel uses and which I could have readily replicated from other sources. You can see that di...