Alternative Investing Report - May 13, 2026

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*as of 5/12; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation rose 0.6% monthly and 3.8% annually in April, its highest mark in three years. This increase was driven largely by rising food and energy costs, but the core CPI reading that excludes those two categories was still up 0.4% on the month and 2.8% annually.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The war in Iran is not just affecting energy prices but broader consumer goods as a whole as well, largely a result of the spike in gasoline prices. With inflation now well above the Fed’s 2% target and the labor market remaining relatively strong, the chances of any imminent rate cuts have dropped to essentially zero. The CME FedWatch tool now puts a higher chance of rate hikes by the end of the year than cuts. Treasury yields have increased, which will push mortgage rates higher and continue to hamper any housing market recovery. Investors must treat this interest rate environment as the new normal and not rely on rates coming down anytime soon.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, Vincent's Slava Rubin talks with tZERO's CEO Alan Konevsky about tokenization, the future of financial infrastructure, and what it means for investors.

🚀 Robinhood’s second retail venture fund: Following the success of RVI, its first publicly traded venture fund — which rose another 22% yesterday — Robinhood is planning to offer RVII, which will invest in earlier stage startups. The vehicle will offer everyday investors potentially greater long-term returns with significantly higher risk by investing in early stage companies in addition to Pre-IPO opportunities.

🤖 Cerebras raises IPO range: In preparation for its public offering expected to launch tomorrow, the AI chipmaker increased its expected IPO range significantly to $150-$160 per share, up from $115 to $125 per share. The move could push its valuation up to $48.8 billion, more than double its last valuation from February.

🏢 Industrial leasing surge: Manufacturing leasing activity rose by 28% year-over-year in Q1, largely due to the demand for AI infrastructure and data centers. As a result, vacancy rates are tightening, rents are rising, and industrial real estate landlords are benefiting.

🏡 Emerging luxury markets: Fayetteville, AR and Durham, NC saw the biggest year-over-year growth in million-dollar home listings, primarily due to new high-end construction.

🚀 Secondary market update: The VC secondary market surpassed $112 billion in size, but 81% of all trading value is coming from the top 20 names, raising questions about the sector’s future once names like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic go public.

🎨 Akira Ikezoe’s breakout spring: The Japanese surrealist artist featured at both the Whitney Biennial and at MoMA PS1’s Greater New York show, one of only two artists to pull off the dual feat. This has led to a surge in attention as he has turned into a major figure in the contemporary art world.

While Zcash did not have the biggest gain this week among major crypto tokens, it had another strong week and has seen its price grow 61% over the past month and nearly 200% over two months as privacy coins continue to attract investor demand. The crypto investment firm Multicoin disclosed a large position in the coin, citing the possibility of California’s wealth tax as a reason investors will target truly private crypto assets. Yesterday, Grayscale filed to create the first Zcash spot ETF, which would also be the first tied to a privacy coin. Zcash is also looking to the future, announcing plans to go quantum-proof by next year, while rolling out quantum-recoverable wallets within a month.