Real Estate vs. Private Equity

[Jeff Schnoebelen]

Hello!

I am writing because I have a surplus in cash that I do not need to allocate to my investment account and/or savings. I have ~$50k sitting in my bank account that I need to do something with. 

I've been interested in alternative investments over the past year but haven't been in a position where I have the cash to explore them or pull the trigger on anything as I am now. Most of my passion/research has been in the multi-family real estate space but given that I would want to invest out of state (most likely in Missouri and I currently live in Chicago) I'm not sure if real estate is the best move right now. This got me thinking about private equity which I don't know a whole lot about.

My ultimate long term goal is to get heavily invested in real estate as I have some weird passion for it. A lot of my friends are interested in partnering up and buying investment properties and my dream goal would be to create some kind of real estate development/investment company. Those are long term goals but I need to start getting into the alternative investment space to learn.

I am seeking some advice on real estate vs. private equity investing, out of state multi-family investments, investing with a partner and the best way to get started in either.

Thanks!!