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Invest in fine art worth millions
Diversify your investment portfolio to build generational wealth. Invest in fine art by contemporary artists that have historically risen in value.
20.4%
HISTORICAL RETURNS
5%
MAXIMUM PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION
20.4 %
HISTORICAL RETURNS
5 %
MAXIMUM PORTFOLIO ALLOCATION
Why invest in art?
Art investments build generational wealth
There are over 60 million companies in the world; one in eight hundred thousand make it to the Fortune 500 list. The art market is similar. A struggling artist is practically a cliché. It is the rare maestro who goes on to achieve fame on a global scale, the Van Gogh, the Picasso, whose works command million-dollar price tags, sometimes even posthumously. We invest in works by these artists, including emerging artists, whose paintings are desired and purchased by ultra-high net worth individuals for many millions.
Art vs S&P 500
Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and there are significant differences between investing in art and investing in stocks, bonds and other asset classes.
In the last 25 years, annualized returns on contemporary art have exceeded 14%. With demand from China rising and a growing number of people joining the ultra-high net worth segment, we project returns to continue. We're also noticing a break with tradition with works by living artists such as Kusama, Jeff Koons and Takashi Murakami commanding higher prices. This is a shift from an era where significant price increase was typically observed posthumously.
Fine art performs well during low-interest rates regimes
Over time, art prices tend to move inversely with real interest rates, i.e., interest rates after inflation. Periods of falling and/or low real interest rates have often coincided with rising art prices. This relationship is rooted in the nature of art as an investment. The art asset class does not pay an income stream. When real interest rates are high or rising, the opportunity cost of owning art is higher. Owners pass up the returns they might otherwise have earned on interest-bearing assets. However, this consideration fades as real rates fall, resulting in art’s often-stronger performance in such times.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and there are significant differences between investing in art and investing in stocks, bonds and other asset classes.
Central banks around the world are committed to keeping interest rates low for the foreseeable future. But extensive monetary easing and government spending have increased the risk of inflation in the future. History shows that prices for fine art (and other real assets like wine, vintage cars, real estate, and commodities) rise during inflationary periods and outperform financial assets like the stock market and bonds. The Art 100 Index, shot up 130% from 1977 to 1982, a period in which inflation rose 80%.
Risk and Returns
Investment Strategy
We invest in works by the Top 100 artists that have a strong history of sales in auction houses, rising price trends, gallery representation and cultural relevance.
Investment Approach
We invest in works by the top 100 that have a strong history of sales in auction houses, rising price trends, gallery representation and cultural relevance.
Featured Portfolio Holdings
Jean-Michel Basquiat's Untitled (Bracco di Ferro) (1983)
Basquiat holds the record for the most expensive work ever sold by an American artist. Works featuring anatomical drawings are particularly desirable, as anatomy was one of Basquiat’s major childhood influences. This work features the iconic crown motif.
Claude Monet's Coup de vent (1881)
Since 2013, Monet has consistently ranked as one of the ten best-selling artists, with over one hundred years of auction history to solidify his position. In 2018, the value of his artwork at auction came second only to Pablo Picasso. Monet’s work exhibits predictable returns with low volatility: the average return was 13.6% annually, with a standard deviation of 6.7% since 2000.
Arpita Singh's Women with Boats and Ducks (1986)
Arpita Singh is the flag bearer of contemporary narrative art in India and remains among the top ten highest-selling artists. We invested in her work as an exception to our global top 100 artists criteria since most of her larger sized works tend to beat auction estimated by over 50%. This work is 48 x 47⅞ inches (121.9 × 121.6 cm).
Cecily Brown's Girl Trouble (1999)
1999 is one of the most desirable years for Cecily Brown, considered seminal for her career. Four out of five record prices are for her works completed in 1998-1999. The most expensive work, Suddenly Last Summer, from this series was sold in 2018 for $6.8 million.
Risk Management
The art market has remained resilient in 2020 amid the pandemic-induced turbulence. In the first seven months of 2020, the art market outperformed most major asset classes, with Contemporary art achieving the strongest gains. Low-interest rates, ongoing digitization, and a growing recognition of art as an investment portfolio diversifier could further support its prospects.
Source: Art represented by the Masterworks All Art, Contemporary Art and Impressionist Art Indices. All returns are estimated in US dollars. Other asset class returns estimated by the global asset allocation team of Citi Private Bank as of November 2020. DM = Developed Market; EM = Emerging Market.
Source: Art represented by the Masterworks All Art, Contemporary Art and Impressionist Art Indices. All returns are estimated in US dollars. Other asset class returns estimated by the global asset allocation team of Citi Private Bank as of November 2020. DM = Developed Market; EM = Emerging Market.