Art Investment to touch newer heights...

Art Investment has been bullish for quite some time. The bull trend seems to continue in 2011 as Art is increasingly moving from collectable asset towards a financial asset.

The prospect of investments pouring into art is supported by rising class of super-wealthy and research companies believe more "hot" money, lured by recent spectacular gains, would enter not only emerging markets but also established Western markets too.

Christie's posted record annual sales of 3.3 billion pounds ($5 billion) in 2010, up 53 percent on 2009. Sotheby's boasted an auction total, not including private sales, of $4.3 billion in 2010 versus $2.3 billion in 2009. 

Similar to Global Markets, Indian Art Market seems very lucrative with twenty-four rare paintings depicting the famous Battle of Pollilur, in which the East India Company army surrendered to Tipu Sultan and his father Hyder Ali, were the piece de resistance of British auction house Sotheby's World Sale of Art. The paintings are estimated at 650,000-800,000 pounds.  

Indian Art Industry is currently poised at Rs 2000 Cr. and is not even in Top 20 Art markets. Expecting many fundamental changes with the infrastructure of the Indian Art Market in times to come, India seems a lucrative market.

Source: Multiple

Tips: why you must invest in art

You’ve probably invested in stocks, property, gold and much more back home. But did you ever imagine that the piece of art you looked over in the exhibition during your visit home could be an asset in your investment portfolio? The answer is yes. Surprising but true! The Indian art market has matured to the extent that it is offering good long-term investment options!

According to art experts, art is the only form of investment where prices don’t come down. The advantages of investing in art don’t end right here, though. Art is not likely to be affected by the whims of the economy. Also, you get the aesthetic benefit of having bought something that you enjoy. These advantages have led to the growing popularity of the idea of art as a long-term investment option. A majority of buyers of contemporary Indian art have always been foreign nationals or Indians settled outside India.

 So you’ve finally decide to go ahead and invest in art. Well, there are a couple of investment options that you may want to consider if you believe that investment in Indian art can fetch you better returns.

 Art Funds

You need not buy art in its physical form. You have the option of electronically investing in units of art funds. The rise in demand for Indian art has prompted some art houses to launch mutual funds to ease investments in the Indian art market. The money collected through these art funds is used to buy actual art by renowned artists. Paintings and serigraphs are then held with the art house that launches these funds.

Paintings and Serigraphs

If you believe in investing in art in its physical form, you can contact several art houses which have branches in many cities across countries.

A word of caution before you take the plunge: you should always keep in mind that art is an illiquid asset. Also, not all pieces done by a renowned artist are masterpieces. You must be a connoisseur to recognize a masterpiece.

Source :ET

Art’s no more an object, its Objet de’ valeur

For centuries Art has been appreciated by the social elites across globe, no wonder that a black and white Coke bottle on canvas by Andy Warhol was sold for $35.36 million at an auction.

This is just one recent example to quote from the long list of sky-high returns art has given, making ‘Art Fund’ lucrative investment option and adding diversity to the portfolio.

By definition, art funds operate like mutual funds and are managed by a Fund Manager who is specially qualified in selling, buying and maintaining art. People invest in art fund and without actually spending large sums of money individually on a particular art object and at the same time reap the benefits from appreciating art market.

Given that fact that Indian art makes up only about 1 per cent of the global art market, there is tremendous scope for art funds to grow.Some examples of established art funds in India are Osian's, Yatra, Copal Art, Crayon Capital and Indian Fine Art Fund.


Source : Multiple source

Did you know about the Art funds?

An Art Fund works much like a Mutual Fund, the difference being that the former invests in Art. The funds aim at investing in diversified portfolio of select works by leading artists and providing investors with the opportunity to profit from leveraging the fund's pooled purchasing power. Art funds are a fairly recent phenomenon in India, and are cumulatively estimated to command AUM of 239 crore under management according to the India Wealth Report .

Art funds forms one of the alternative assets in which the individual investors invest; you can also check out the the break–up of the amount of wealth under each sub-category of Alternative assets by taking a look at the India Wealth Report.