Art as an asset

Whilst with AXA “for an annual sum of €600, your artworks are covered for up to €200,000” says Sylvie Gleises (it is important to note that valuation of your artworks takes place at the time of the claim, rather than at the time of signing up to the insurance), the question of investing in art has become much more sophisticated.

Christine Bourron founded Pi-eX in London in 2014, developing a financial derivative called the “Contract on Future Sales” or CFS. When an investor buys into CFS, they create synthetic portfolios of specific chosen artworks. “It allows investors to reflect their investment views and preferences without having to own the underlying assets,” says Bourron. Pi-eX’s CFS is similar to what we call a Contract for Difference, which has just recently been approved by the FCA, the UK’s financial authority.

For Yan Walther, the next step for his company SGS Art Services, is to put in place a department dedicated to ensuring due diligence when a work of art is acquired anywhere in the world. But it is Xavier Oberson, professor in Swiss and international tax law at the University of Geneva, who has taken it upon himself to reinstate the now tarnished reputation of the world’s Free Ports. A key element of the bureaucracy of collecting art, the world’s Free Ports have been met with a barrage of bad press following recent scandals…

These tools aim to make investing in art easier and more accessible for those considering using it as an investment tool to diversify their investment portfolio. And its popularity is undoubtedly increasing; in 2014, the global art market reached a record total of over €51 billion, trumping even the pre-recession figure of €48 billion. At the same time, Artprice’s Artmarket Confidence Index is up by 16 points.