Globalization is the most powerful economic trend, making shipping, shipbuilding and commodities growth areas, famed investor Wilbur Ross said, but until recently, small investors haven’t had access to the types of alternative investments that can exploit those sectors.

Ross, who became a billionaire turning around distressed companies, is now a portfolio manager for Atlanta-based Invesco, which began offering a handful of mutual funds that package alternative investments such as derivatives, energy, currencies, commodities and real estate.

“We believe the most powerful economic force in the world is globalization,” Ross said. “And, whatever else it may mean, it certainly is going to mean rising standards of living in developing countries, which is where most of the population lives. When you’re talking per capita incomes of $1,000 a year, a rising standard of living may be mean one thing: Increased consumption of commodities.”

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