During the recession, a growing lack of confidence in the financial markets is prompting investors to look towards more prospective alternative investments, among which the leading place is taken by the arts. According to the research of the past fifty years, the art assets surpass even the reliability of the gold in this regard and significantly contribute to the stability of the investment portfolio.
The examples of 500% profit from investing in art are well-known by art market players. On September 15, 2008, in the midst of the banking crisis, the London auction house Sotheby’s raises 110m pounds with its “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever” sale of 218 out of 223 works by the UK artist Damien Hirst. The most lucrative sale in 2009 was the Yves Saint Lauren sale in Paris by Christie’s with €374,392,500 ($484,426,456) raised and included artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, Leger, Eileen Gray.
Russian art sector as a part of the world art market has been growing dynamically for the past years. Russian art auction market value has increased 47 times since 2000. Average prices of Russian art have risen on average of 370% since the beginning of 2004, according to AMR Russian Art 100 Index.
The growth potential of a work’s value plays the significant role in making the investment decisions. From this point of view Russian Emigre art nowadays has more potential.
The World Wealth Report published by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management clearly shows that investment in art collections by HNWI has grown from 20% in 2006 to 25% in 2008 and has exceeded other passion investments such as jewellery, gems, watches and sport. Analysts attribute this tendency to the desire of investors to invest in sustained assets, among which the role of art is becoming more noticeable.