Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Get ready to pay Rs 100 cr for a single work of art

S.G Vasudev, courtesy Monsoon Canvas

As confidence for Indian modern art returns, prices will rise in the same proportion as they did in the last decade.
What are we to make of the sale of just two artworks at auctions this year equalling the size of the entire Indian market? Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust last week became the world’s highest-priced artwork when it was auctioned by Christie’s for Rs 478 crore, beating Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture Walking Man I that was auctioned earlier in the year by Sotheby’s for Rs 468 crore. That the Indian art market is terribly undervalued hardly needs reiterating. But when it fell from Rs 1,500 crore in 2008 to about Rs 800-900 crore currently, the signals it sent out were not just about the low value attached to Indian artists but, more importantly, about the shortage of good art in the market.

In part, this is because what we refer to as “modern art” has had a very short history in India, with even fewer artists working in that style. How many of Raja Ravi Varma’s co-painters can we name? Or, for that matter, who were Amrita Sher-Gil’s contemporaries? Because “studios” hired painters to paint in the style that was then fashionable, works by even talented artists were attributed to an ambiguous “Anonymous” identity. Almost no research has been undertaken to identify who these artists were.

Since the forties, we have seen more works by more artists, but as compared to Western countries, the numbers have been low (because there were fewer patrons, perhaps — the “modern school did not appeal to everyone in India nurtured on a tradition of more sentimental aesthetics), and recognition for them even lower. A number of artists who worked through the fifties, sixties and seventies would have remained for all purposes unknown, had not the heady pursuit of scarce artworks and a booming art market in the last decade led to their resurrection from a state of near-anonymity.

High disposable incomes, the opening of Indian markets and an appreciation of things Indian drove up the prices of Indian art on a combination of availability, quality and hype. Hysteria marked the new benchmarks that auctions now created. The first painting to cross the Rs 1 crore standard and each successive crore were excitedly reported and an increasing number of artists were welcomed to the “crore club”. For a while it appeared that art for art’s sake had been overtaken by art for investment’s sake.

How the art market would have continued if it hadn’t been reined in by recession is now in the domain of speculation. But this much we do recognise: that the art market had over-heated not because of the top prices paid to a few, rare quality artworks but because the vast and greedy contemporary market had been consumed by a lust for easy money. Unproven artists were demanding and getting unreasonable valuations, mediocre art was over-priced, and there seemed no precedents any more to valuations.

But a thumbs-up to its recovery comes from art market research firm Art Tactic’s report that shows confidence in the Indian modern art going up 28 per cent since October 2009. On its scale of one to 10, Indian modern art is now placed at 6.9, not just its highest ever posted by the London-based firm, but up from 4.9 just six months earlier.

The report is bound to bring speculators back into the Indian art market, lured by the prices and high confidence in, particularly, modern art — the gap between modern and contemporary art, according to the report, has widened to 51 per cent. But some common sense should help the collector in arriving at the “right” price. If we accept that for a country of India’s size, there were very few painters to begin with, and then accept the global average that only 10 per cent of an artist’s work can be considered of exceptional quality, then the amount of such art is very limited and getting scarcer as it ends up in the hands of intuitions, or collections, that are unlikely to re-sell.

And it is works of such quality that will do for prices in the new decade what they did in the last decade, something that investors with their short-term concerns would do well not to overlook. India’s highest prices for art were achieved in 2008, true, but this must be said: in the decade 2001 to 2010, the highest prices achieved moved from Rs 10 lakh to well above Rs 10 crore. In the coming decade, the same quality of artworks will see the price move from Rs 10 crore to — yes, hold your breath! — Rs 100 crore.

Even at that price, a Tyeb Mehta or F N Souza, an S H Raza or M F Husain will still be a fourth or fifth of Picasso’s current value, but we can save the catching up for the next decade that will follow.

These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which the writer is associated

 
Article by Kishore Singh as printed in Business Standard, May 12, 2010

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Practical advice from an art collector - on art as investment

Still life, R.B.Bhaskaran, courtesy Monsoon Canvas


As a long time collector, I have had the chance to mull over my art portfolio, which has been collected over the years. When I look at them, I see many from my earlier days that were purchased merely for capital appreciation and many that were purchased because they touched me in some way. In hindsight, I would say, the latter set of paintings still has the same effect on me unlike the ones I purchased purely for investment.


And what happened to capital appreciation, you ask? Well it has appreciated, but only notionally, I do not think I could monetize them for a decent profit…..

Art as a serious (organized) investment medium emerged only in the 2000s, promoted by Investment Banks looking for diversification of their portfolio. With a lot of new-money in the economy with the internet boom and the world becoming flatter, banks found an innovative and glamorous investment medium for their clientele.

But has it lived up to its expectations?

The performance of some of the recent funds like the ABN-Amro Fine Art fund and the Osian’s Fine Art fund (India) were not very encouraging. Unfortunately, they were unable to provide capital appreciation to the investors, on the contrary the investors actually lost a portion of their investment.

Investing in the works of modern and renaissance masters definitely pays off as those works are limited in numbers and there is no chance of further works being done. These works also command historic and academic value. One can also be sure of the real talent and value of the artwork due to the mass of literature detailing them. In other words an investor knows what he is getting. Unfortunately this is a luxury that is affordable by a few.

Whereas, in the case of contemporary art, which is more affordable, there is scope of increase in supply (as the artists are still active) and there is no antiquity value that it has. The artist and artwork has not been time tested (read, survived series of art critiques and analysis). One would need a lot of patience investing in one of them as it would be a long wait for a considerable appreciation, especially if the artist is very prolific. This effects the liquidity of contemporary art as a capital appreciation tool.

Either this or that, the best advice would be:

Buy an artwork that you love and that communicates to you in some way, as it is going to be hanging on your wall for a long time. Buy art for the love of it.

Cheers,
Art collector


Other Related articles


Saturday, February 13, 2010

Motivations to Invest in Art

March of Progress, Jitin Hazarika, courtesy Monsoon Canvas


Diversification: An investment in art can be an effective tool to reduce the risk exposure of a carefully planned investment portfolio. This would be an ideal measure to employ during a period of market volatility.

The prerequisite here, is top-quality art and a long-term view of 10 years or more. Research supports the ability of quality art to survive economic downturn, the value of the holding never going down to zero, compared to many other investments. Art prices have been consistently shown to recover more quickly after crashes than equities.

In addition, art market prices have been shown to have outperformed the S&P500 and more conservative investments in the long-term (Mei/Moses' extensive research of paintings sold at auction over a 50 year period compared to US stock market prices- note both asset classes were ex transaction costs).

Economic slowdown: During these periods investors begin to turn to alternative investments, such as art, when equities and property seem fully valued.

Capital appreciation: This benefit attracts those investors wishing to achieve long-term growth that beats inflation and has a good chance of outperforming the stock market. The factors fuelling this upward trend are an ever-increasing demand of art due to globalization, increasing need for corporate identity, rising incomes and more information lending to better art market transparency. This increasing demand is met by a falling supply of top quality art, as works cannot be produced at will.

Speculation: The best conditions for this aspect are when stock markets are booming and interest rates are low, when investors wealth and confidence is growing. Recently the ability to speculate has also been lubricated by the increasing transparency; availability of comprehensive research and information from the media and Internet, which is helping to define art as a new asset class.

However, caution should be exercised. The art market is illiquid compared to equities, having a lower turnover rate, thereby contributing to the opaque nature of art prices, which can be vulnerable in some sectors due to subjective pricing and faddish trends. Art works normally produce no income streams, they are unregulated and difficult to compare.

In addition, transaction costs, due to agents, often essential for securing the best deal, can be as much as 25% and may wipe out profits in the short term. One should also budget for negative income: storage and insurance. This can be recouped by renting out to museums, corporations and galleries, and having a long-term view.

Extended Boom Period: Art market prices have been shown to carry a beta greater than 1, art prices move up more than equities in boom times and drop lower in crashes (William Goetzmann Yale School of Management). Fortunately there is usually a time lag of between 9mnths and 2 years. For example Oct 87 Crash, Sotheby's and Christies achieved record prices in that year, the art world only crashed at the beginning of the 90's. This is good news for those wishing to engage in art investment with speculative motivations.

Taxation benefit: For those seeking capital gains rather than income. This is of best advantage in a corporate environment because art can be written-off over time as an expense.

Philanthropy: For those investors who want to contribute to, the development and safe-keeping of culture, stimulating growth of the local and world economy at large by investing in the Creative Economy, while also providing much needed support for working artists.

Emotional dividends: A work of art can providing a lifetime of visual pleasure to its owner. In a corporate setting, art well chosen work of art can improve employee wellbeing and productivity.

Social status, Corporate Identity and Brand Management: Through self differentiation, this function has served acquirers for thousands of years...

Remember: Non-speculative reasons for investment in art should be a priority, because most people who have made money have not made it by purchasing art as an investment. The key to a great investment is the combination of knowledge, focus, diversification and passion.


The article originally appeared in http://art2bank.com

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Indian art funds: Hedging the bet hasn't paid off








Some weeks ago, a financial daily finally came out with a strongly worded story that was fairly common knowledge within art circles: The great Indian art fund—and there are too many to list—as per available figures, has proved (as yet) to be a non-performer in-so-far as deliverables go: the promise of fantastic returns used by fund managers waved at the naïve and occasionally, hapless investor remains, till this day, just that. But, say trade experts, it’s not all as bleak as it sounds.


Placing the current situation within a larger, ‘markets’ perspective, financier and art collector, Nandan Maluste analyses the scenario thus: “An ideal investment market trades identical items, is liquid, transparent and well regulated so that only what is unfair is illegal, known to all, and infringements are punished rapidly.

Nevertheless, even investing in an ideal market cannot be risk free. In reality, no market meets this ideal. Imperfections are seen as opportunities by the shrewd and patient, but are obstacles to the naïve or hurried.”

Having advised an art fund, Maluste adds, “It’s obvious that no art market can match the above ideal, and the Indian art market does not, on any count. In spite of this, most art fund promoters (when they set out) promised liquidity and returns within a short time or even regularly. They also exaggerated their own expertise. People believed that the bull-run, just like the bull-run in the equity market, would persist longer than it did.”

In short, what we are witnessing is a cumulative fall-out of a collision between larger recessionary trends and the specific peculiarities of trading that exist within the Indian art market. A portion of the dismal picture, opine experts, is also mired in the irregularities of trade practice. As is known, this market is in the early stages of development. The absence of monitoring systems and a lack of clear checks and balances vis-à-vis financial due diligence, have all played a role in precipitating the situation.

Founder and chairman, Osian’s and chief advisor, Osian’s Art Fund, Neville Tuli, continues however to believe that there is no ‘Art Fund Crisis’ as such. He describes the current situation as “... only a low moment in the larger historical journey which cannot be short-circuited into success.”

He adds, “You have to see the present problem in the context of transforming the art object into a credible capital asset in a cash driven economy, without basic financial infrastructure, sufficient public awareness, regular institutional flow of authentic art financial information, and a host of other financial facilities (eg bill discounting, collateralisation of art fund items, underwriting framework) that are just not available.”

Mukesh Panika, director, Religare Arts Initiative opines: “One would not say that there is a crisis really, but the art funds floated in 2006-08, when the art market was booming, have found themselves facing difficult times due to the downturn in the global market which has had an impact on the Indian art market as well.

Another contributing factor is that this asset is not as liquid. The art fund which we are advising is in the nature of a Private Trust which operates for the benefit of the beneficiaries.” He holds that there is a chance of getting better returns in the coming years and the “same would earn reasonable returns by 2010-11.”

A senior art critic though is skeptical. Citing reasons of aesthetic judgment, he explains, “Not all fund managers are necessarily qualified to assess the aesthetics of every/all work. Selecting art for collections/funds is a specialised task. In fact it’s an unwritten rule that seasoned collectors are familiar with: every work of art by even established artists is not likely to appreciate. An assessment of works acquired for the purpose of appreciation within the collection of the many art funds may reveal that almost 30-40% is not likely to make the grade.” A well known art collector, who chooses not to be named adds, “In the case of some art funds it’s all a case of insider trading at its worst!”
Assessing the situation in more candid vein, Swapan Seth, managing partner, Henry S Clark, an art house, says: “We had it coming. It was greed on the part of fund houses that wished to over leverage their grandiose ambitions and make a pile of cash, and naiveté on the part of the investor, who had little knowledge of the intricacies of the art business, that made it all topple like a pack of cards in the wind.”

But to give the devil its due, certain funds are taking onus and quick steps to rectify the mess. Speaking for Osian’s, Tuli claims, “We have almost completed the redemption of 85% of the capital to all Unit Holders. Five out of the 11.72 income were paid 18 months ago. Thus for every 100 unit invested 15+6.72 needs to be repaid to close the Fund, which will be completed within February 2010.”

In months to come, the larger scenario is only expected to improve. Says Maluste, “With stocks, property, gold and other commodities all picking up, we should see better prices for Indian art in 2010 and 2011. But whether those will yield attractive returns for those who bought in 2006 or 2007, at peak market prices and bore the whiplash of the 2008-2009 slide remains to be seen.”

Seth adds, “While correction has taken place, much remains to be done. I see the punters losing steam, strangulated by the money they had invested and cannot get back. On the other hand for the serious investor/collector, I see light at the end of what will be a tenuous tunnel. At the end of three years, the wheat will be separated from the chaff. But about one thing I am sure. Art as a market will be chastened after having realised as Richard II did, that its “...rash, fierce blaze of riot cannot last.”

For the future, Seth touts a Buffet like perspective to investing. Laconically, he urges, “...when others are greedy be careful. When others are careful, be greedy. So if you have been careful buy more now since there is no better time. If you have been greedy, Oliver Twist like, wait in line for your gruel. To those seeking to invest, do it because you want to invest and not speedily divest. Invest because there is intrinsic value in art. Not prodigious returns, perhaps. If you view from an equity perspective and see it through the lens of short, mid-term and long term investment, you will see potential in it. If you view it from The Golden Goose perspective, then your goose is cooked and on your table already.”

Maluste’s advice to the already invested is, “Be patient. Imagine you have invested in Indian real estate. Modern and contemporary art still holds potential as an asset class provided one is not thinking short term. The rich throughout the world, including India, have always patronised art, with a variety of motives. Over the long run, they have done amazingly well. I think the market is heading for continued growth over the medium and long terms.

Not only are Indians becoming more affluent and appreciative of our art and artists, but foreigners are increasingly getting interested. Essentially, as has passed into the popular idiom since the 2002 Goldman Sachs report, the BRIC countries will be economically ascendant, in case of India at least till 2050. Financial and cultural attention will therefore focus upon us. This will make it economic to improve and educate the entire chain, from artist to collector.”

The last word, ironically enough, could come from Tuli, who holds that: “There are very few guidelines for leaders, and so we must absorb all lessons with equanimity.” Indeed the art fund ‘situation’ in India affords a useful primer for those who have singed their hairs, and for those aspiring to enter a market, nay a world, that holds the potential to yield several sweet returns, many of which cannot be measured in commercial terms.

(The writer is director of The Loft in Lower Parel, Mumbai)

Financial Times, 24 Jan, 2010

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Tips for your art investments

Art became an investment fad even among the uninitiated a few years ago. And the inevitable correction followed. We may not see those fancy prices for works of art again says Pheroza J. Godrej, founder of Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai.

Her call: After a correction, art sales have picked up within a range of up to Rs. 5 lakh.
Her investment idea: Start small. Buy works of art that you are prepared to live with. Returns will come eventually.

To many people, Indian art became investment-worthy, a commodity to trade in, when the capital market peaked three years ago. Investors, some of whom did not know a brush from a spatula, bought, bought and bought more. They were heavily influenced by the growing interest in Indian art, on the back of highly successful auctions and increasing participation of Indian artists in international exhibitions. Naturally, they did not want to be left out. These “money rollers” had already invested in real estate, commodities etc., and came to art last. Unfortunately for them, that was when art had attained a high premium. When the inevitable correction came, many such investors were romping mad.

Today, the changed scenario in the art market is that there is no desperate selling. Prices are not increasing. There is not much good work available that can be bought at a throwaway price. If people who bought at the peak of the market were to sell now, their portfolios would receive a terrible blow. What I do see now is that artists whose works were artificially priced high — and this happened through auctions — cannot expect their works to continue to command those prices now.

Sales have picked up within a particular price range. Works under Rs.5 lakh are selling briskly. This is a healthy trend and the price level could gradually be pushed up to Rs.10 lakh. However, any price upwards of that would be difficult. People are getting 5 percent returns. They are not even getting their hurdle rate, if they had committed a hurdle rate. This is not a very healthy sign. My personal view is that something as precious as art should not have been treated as a commodity to be traded in the market. Art is something personal. You have to develop an interest in it, you have to do so with a passion – not just to make money and definitely not for a short-term.

The surge had taken place during all of 2007 and the first half of 2008. The top of the moderns went up haywire. There were paintings being sold for a crore, a crore and a half, rupees. Similarly, in the case of the contemporaries, works of the top ten kept rising.

I believe that the correction has been a big leveller. Frankly, I do not think that we are going to see those prices again unless something radical happens — even in the case of F.N. Souza’s work of which there is no shortage in the market.

In the present scenario, however, you may wonder how should artists react. There are two things that celebrated artists can do: if they are working independently, they could negotiate a price with the buyer; or they could instruct a gallery to act on their behalf. Between the gallery and the artist, the price would again be lowered. I have been in this field for 38 years and I know how difficult it is to negotiate with artists, sensitive as they are. This is the ground reality and artists have no choice but to learn how to face it.

In the case of sculptures and similar works, the material cost is high, be it for copper, marble, bronze or brass. Besides, many artists don’t do everything on their own. They bring the creativity aspect, but have studio assistants for the execution. They have these costs to take care of. Further, there is a saturation point up to which a work can be pushed. A new phenomenon is that of Indian galleries tying up with reputed galleries overseas. These galleries have done well for themselves by taking Indian art to the international market. They have also raised the profile of our artists. However, when the recession started hitting America and Europe, this led to Indian art taking a knock as well.





















Source: ArtTactic Research
Being connected with an art fund as an advisor, I naturally have to be very, very selective and calculating. How do we go about purchasing works, you may ask. Frankly, for every work that we recommend, the first question I ask myself is, if this work goes on the market, would I buy it. As a result, except for one painting in that fund’s collection, I would buy all the paintings, if I had that sort of money. It is indeed a very good collection.

Investors in art funds should at first look at the credibility of the people managing the funds. There are no paintings when the fund is launched. Purchases come later. Investors have to take the trouble to find out who the people are, under which group are they operating. They should form a personal relationship with the asset management people and get to know, if not meet, the people entrusted with the buying. One would be skeptical of giving away one’s money to someone who would just turn it around very quickly. One could do that by investing in gold or bonds or in something one is familiar and comfortable with, but not in art.

A word of caution to young collectors who do the rounds at art galleries and find that every time they decide to buy a good painting, the price of that particular artist has gone up. My advise to them is to buy a smaller canvas within their budget. Don’t buy a signature for the sake of a signature. Be prepared to live with it. Buy one that you would continue to enjoy. You have decided to put your hard earned money into art, so why don’t you get yourself a good work of art? Don’t buy only from the point of view of how much it will appreciate. So I tell any new collector who I feel would value my advise: the gestation period is very long, buy what you like, enjoy it and look after it. Your returns will eventually come, and irrespective of what happens in the meantime, you will be the winner.

(Co-ordinated by Saumya Roy)
By: Pheroza J. Godrej/Forbes India

This article appeared in the Forbes Indian Magazine, 19 Jan 2010
 
**********************************************************************************
Advertisement : Monsoon Canvas actually has investment worthy artists (in the recommended price range) take a peek - Investment worthy art

**********************************************************************************

Monday, January 11, 2010

Book Review : Fine Art and High Finance: Expert Advice on the Economics of Ownership




Fine Art and High Finance: Expert Advice on the Economics of Ownership
Edited by Clare McAndrew
Bloomberg Press, $39.95, 336 pages

The art boom of 2004-07 saw such staggering growth, particularly in contemporary art, that it is hardly surprising that art is increasingly being commoditised, bundled into funds and flagged up as an alternative asset class.
But while most people can recognise a Warhol or a Picasso at 10 paces, they have far less knowledge of the complex issues inherent in trading something that is almost always heterogeneous, in an opaque and unregulated market.

The editor of this book, Clare McAndrew, has a PhD in economics from Trinity College Dublin and runs a consultancy focused on the art economy. Her book The Art Economy, published in 2007, was an investor’s guide to the art market. This book updates and expands the topics covered in that volume, using a team of expert contributors, from art law specialists Pierre Valentin and the Danziger brothers to insurer Jill Arnold.

After a brief gallop through the history of the modern art market, McAndrew outlines its current structure and main players before getting to grips with its economics. She makes the fundamental point that “one of the most important economic features of the market is that it is essentially supply-driven ... increased demand ... cannot necessarily increase supply ... and instead elevates prices”.

But the art market is also difficult to quantify, and even its size, as several contributors point out, is only an estimate: $65bn in 2008, according to McAndrew. Moreover, how do you assess the price of a painting when four Picasso portraits of Dora Maar, all from the 1940s and of comparable size, can sell for between $4.5m and $85m within a three-year period?
There have been many attempts to establish indices for art, none of them completely successful. As Dr Roman Kräussl of Amsterdam’s VU University points out: “All price indices for the art market suffer bias because of inherent problems in the available data.” The only available prices are those made at auction, which eliminates about 50 per cent of transactions, those made through dealers. Having summarised publications from 1974 to 2008, Kräussl concludes that “studies on the returns on art investment have produced very mixed results”.

In the light of this, it might seem surprising that so many art funds have been started. The enormous profits that could be made until last year were an obvious inducement – particularly in India, which, according to wealth management specialist Randall Willett, represented the majority of the 50-odd funds that were “active” in 2009. Willett outlines the various fund models, while McAndrew contributes a case study of the only art hedge fund, based in the UK. Chapters on insurance, government regulation, art banking, risk, taxation, conservation and the illegal art trade complete the book.

There are some inconsistencies in coverage: for example, taxation in the UK and the US are detailed but the chapter on the illegal art trade covers only the US, leaving out the world’s second-largest centre for art trading. Art-related litigation is growing, and UK and US legislation differ in a number of aspects affecting the art market.

What the book cannot do (and nor does it try to) is predict how the art market will evolve, as it is still in the throes of readjustment in the wake of the recent financial crisis. That crisis had a major impact, particularly in the area that had seen the biggest gains: contemporary art, where some artists have seen their value fall by as much as 50 per cent.

The decision to “invest” in art is complex but this book provides a wealth of information for those who are thinking of putting their money – as headline writers love to say – into Monet.

Review by Georgina Adam

Published: January 11 2010 03:47 , FT.com

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Guide to investing in art – Art Funds



There are primarily 2 ways in which one could invest in Art.

1. Investing in individual pieces of art work similar to buying shares of a particular company or

2. Investing in an Art Fund which is similar to investing in a mutual fund, where there is no possession of the art work

In an earlier article I had talked about investing in individual art works, this is the continuation of that article on investments into art funds.

What is an Art Fund?

An art fund is like a mutual fund for art, usually paintings. Instead of an investor picking out an artwork on his own, he relies on professionals to do it for him. Like mutual funds, art funds have managers who manage and run the fund. Most art funds are closed ended, with an average term of 5 years.

Art funds have several advantages over investing in individual artworks. Not every investor is knowledgeable enough to choose the right artist; in this situation, it may be wiser to let the experts do it. There is also the advantage of diversification among various artists, styles and genre. One of the main advantages over buying individual artworks is that, it is quite usual that an investor gets attached to the artwork, since the investor is admiring it everyday, and may hesitate to sell when the time is right. This is a quite common and serious disadvantage, because the investment value is lost without booking profits. This can be avoided by investing in an art fund.

Art funds are gaining popularity has an alternative investment option with investment banks like ABM Amro, Goldman Sachs and nearer home Religare, Yes Bank and Bajaj Capital are some of the traditional investment houses that have begun offering art as an alternative.

How does it work?

The fund manager and his team of professionals are mainly from the investment banking industry. The come from various spheres of the art world, like professional trade institutions (galleries, auction houses), publishing (journalism) and academics. The fund management creates an ideal portfolio of art and artists with their intended strategy. The strategy could be to acquire works of old masters and modern artists like Picasso, Titian, Monet through auctions, private collections, museums or commercial galleries. Wait for their prices to appreciate (which it is bound to with the supply being short), before liquidating them for a profit. The returns are then distributed among the investors. On the other hand, a more daring strategy would be to pick and choose currently undervalued artworks and wait for their price appreciation. Due to this most art funds are close-ended and take about 5 years to mature, in some cases even 10.

Once the strategy has been formulated, the selling process begins; at private parties, through investment banks and wealth managers etc. A brochure is printed detailing the artworks planned to be procured. Almost all of these funds target high-net-worth individuals who are on the look out for alternative investments to diversify their portfolio. They also target pension funds, private banks and other sources of cash reserves. The fund management team uses it network and referrals to convince and attract investors. The management then procures the artworks from the various sources, trying to make sure they are getting a bargain. The artworks are then stored in a storage facility or sometimes also lend out to exhibitions and museums for a fee. Some funds also lease the paintings to their investors for a fee. The art funds look for the right opportunity to cash in on their artworks; this is an ongoing process through the life of the fund.

The costs incurred in art funds can be quite high. They mainly include the cost of the fund manager and his team and the cost of storage, insurance and transport. The aggregated costs could come to 10% to 15% of the price of the work. Fund managers are also given a certain percentage of the profits before it’s divided among the investors.

How good are they?

This is the million dollar question. Everything depends on how good the team is and how their selection and art acquisition skills are. It may be too early to tell as, Art funds have emerged as an investment options only in the mid 2000s. One of the first funds of this kind was introduced in the mid-1970s; British Rail Pension Fund put $100 million, or 2.5% of its portfolio, into art. The fund amassed a broad collection of 2,400 pieces, from Chinese porcelains to African tribal art. The portfolio wound up with an annual compound return of 11.3%, but the gains came primarily from 25 Impressionist paintings. The fund sold off all of its art from 1987 to 1999. After a lull Art funds have again emerged as investment vehicles.

But the performance of some of the recent funds like the ABN-Amro Fine art fund and the Osian’s Fine art fund (India) are not very encouraging. They were not able to provide any appreciation to their investors, infact they led to depreciation of the capital.

Conclusion

I think waiting and watching the performance of the existing funds would make sense for somebody who is interested in investing in Art Funds. The next couple of year should see more art funds nearing their term.

Happy Art Investing….

Courtesy : Monsoon Canvas