Beyond its emotional and intellectual value, we believe art is a real and tangible asset that appreciates over time. It has proven to achieve attractive returns, with low volatility and low correlation with respect to equities, which in turn helps to diversify an investment portfolio while reducing risk.
Art as an asset
Benefits
Financial
Low/negative correlation with equity
Low cost of maintenance
Hedging possibilities
Financial "antifragility"
Global market
High returns
Portability
Low volatility
Grows tax free
Arbitrage opportunities
Diversification possibilities
Does not depreciate but can be depreciated
Cultural
Estate planning legacy
Defines cultural standards
Patrimonial qualities
Aesthetic qualities
Intellectual qualities
Unique asset
Limited asset
Emotional qualities
Individual/national identity
Aesthetic awareness
Builds historic memory
Enriches and improves quality of life
Peace of mind
High art is the perfect instrument for asset protection from frivolous lawsuits, even better than gold, certificates or real estate.
Hedge against all odds
High art’s inherent value has a proven track record for constant appreciation. It is highly uncorrelated to financial markets and macroeconomic effects, and its value is invulnerable to any financial crisis, no matter their length or severity. Even in war-like scenarios, art is a perfect hedge against all odds when everything else is worthless or illiquid. There hasn’t been a time in history, over 500 years when a Leonardo hasn’t incremented its value. In contrast, the permanence of the likes of Enron or Lehman Brothers are not guaranteed. Even countries have ceased to exist.
Capital preservation
Should bank deposits be at risk, you may want to consider allocating some resources in safe harbors. Equities and other financial instruments are in a never-ending bubble? debt instruments are not entirely risk free and the yield is zero; commodities are a gamble of nature and other unpredictable forces; real estate can potentially dig into your investment if rents don’t come in. And none of the above combines asset protection and preservation like a Picasso does.
Minimal expense
Art grows tax-free and the cost of caring for an art portfolio is less than US$1,800 per million per year. In a fund, the expense ratio is as low as < 0.8% AUM, among the lowest in the alternative investment industry.
Positive returns
Art appreciation is supranational, and art the most valuable and coveted cultural object in existence. The rich are not only getting richer but also growing in numbers, and fascinated by art. The Picasso Artprice index has grown 547% in the last 20 years in the painting category, compared to the 179% growth on the S&P 500 in the same period.
Art market in numbers
A total of 65 billion USD worth of art sold in 2023. While this is a dip of 4% compared to 2022, it is still better than pre-pandemic results. (Art Basel UBS)
Despite inflation and higher interest rates, the Artnet Index of Fine Art exceeds the S&P 500 index: fine art returns grew a nominal 4.2% compared to a 6.6% loss for the S&P 500 since early 2022. (Art Tactic Deloitte)
Despite the significant decline of high end pieces last year, the $10 million-plus segment has still shown the most growth over time, and grew 2.5 times (inflation adjusted) its size since 2009 through 2023 versus just 16% for the market under $50,000. (Art Basel UBS)
After a significant decline in sales during the pandemic, the US art market has seen one of the most robust recoveries of all the major markets. From a pandemic-induced low in 2020, sales bounced back in 2021, increasing by just over one third in value to $28.0 billion. Growth continued in 2022 with a further increase of 8% year-on-year to $30.2 billion, its highest level to date. In 2023, the market contracted a bit, however, the US maintained its pole position as market leader. (Art Basel UBS)
Post-War and Contemporary art kept their position as the biggest sector by value and by volume in the fine art market in 2023 although the sales went down by 16% since 2022. Modern art maintained its second place by value and contributed 24% to all fine art sales, down 8% since 2022. Impressionist and Post-impressionist art are next in line with 14% of all fine art sales by value and down 4% year-on-year. (Art Basel UBS)
Top selling artists since 2015: Pablo Picasso (US$3.2 billion), Claude Monet (US$1.89 billion), Andy Warhol (US$1.81 billion), Jean-Michel Basquiat (US$1.62 billion) and Gerhard Richter (US$1.18 billion). (Art Tactic Deloitte)
The low volatility of art was accurately demonstrated during the 2008 recession, when art indexes dropped 4.5%, while the S&P abruptly dropped 37.5%.