The Sunday Edit: Alternative Assets
The Kiss, Gustav Klimt (1907-08)/Flickr/Jessica Epstein
Even though I’ve been a “saver” since I had a Christmas Club passbook in grade school, I was never much of a “collector” of any thing besides money. Money paid bills. After saving for the inevitable rainy day, there wasn’t much left over for collectible enjoyment. That is, until I made a career and a business on the alternative asset classes cumulatively called ART. Buy. Enjoy. Sell. Repeat.
In the words of David Byrne from Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime, “Well, how did I get here?”
My parents, Frank and Lillian, taught me a bit about investing. Their financial spreadsheets lived on the kitchen table. Bills and tax documents lived on the dining room table. I recall discussions about buying shares of IBM, Bell Tel and Fidelity Magellan Fund. We collected Green Stamps and coupons. Fine and decorative art was limited to craft projects like Sand art, Paint-by-numbers, and making tile ashtrays at the neighborhood park.
Frank and Lillian also loved music. They were each voted their high school’s Best Dancer and met at a “hop.” We listened to a lot of Big Band and jazzy dance music and The Make-believe Ballroom lived in the Nutone radio installed in every room of our house. So, my first collection was records and, to afford them, I worked at Sam Goody’s.
Van Vleck House, Montclair, NJ
I lived the MCM life during college in Miami and Montclair, acquiring a taste for décor and art. Having shallow pockets meant enjoying assets belonging to others – museums, historical homes, galleries, art fairs, antique shops - and becoming a treasure hunter. Friends and live music were my next collectibles, along with cool album covers and posters. I wore vintage clothing because that’s what best defined my style – oh, and it was affordable.
Like an archaeologist, or pirate, I’ve enjoyed unearthing treasures. I don’t have to own them. I just study them. It’s a lovely, peaceful, yet exciting feeling. That “other people’s treasures” hunt turned me into a decent unbiased appraiser. Appraise. Enjoy. Repeat.
Christie's Saleroom/ArtAsiaPacific
Later, out of that ever-pressing need for bill-paying, other ART income streams grew. Buying the highest quality and rarest one can afford, assures not only enjoyment of an investment, but perhaps a good gamble. Since the tanking of Wall Street in the past year, alternative assets have become a strong parlay. Investors are seeking to own, not just real estate and private equity, but objects of enjoyment: “collectibles” such as jewelry, paintings, coins, pop culture. Much more fun! According to Masterworks, Contemporary Art has a 25-year return of almost 14% annualized compared to the S&P500 at 10.2%, real estate at 8.9% and gold at 8.2%. Where would you rather invest?
There are a million platforms and opportunities to buy and sell ART. Some are more transparent than others. Private treaty sales account for well more than half of all ART sales, so auction results are only part of a potential valuation. I hope you find a good alternative ART investment that brings you joy.
-Authored by Lynn Magnusson, President + Heather Zises, Marketing Director
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