Giving art investment more credit
Short of cash for that Pierneef? Bidvest might have the product you need
Bidvest Bank, in collaboration with Aspire Art Auctions, has launched SA's first product aimed at providing credit for the purchase of artworks. The initiative mimics similar moves in European markets where art is a major asset class. The product will be taken to galleries and is expected to spur more interest in the market and possibly trigger further instruments of this kind. Investors are increasingly looking at art as an alternative to traditional assets, though many academic studies question the value of the returns on offer and note that transaction fees with galleries and auction houses are often higher than those for other asset classes. This, the studies say, can reduce the attraction of art as a way of diversifying a portfolio dominated by property, bonds or shares. Meanwhile, globally, the art auction market almost doubled in sales volume between 2002 and 2013 because of rising wealth and very low interest rates, according to a report from Investec. The global art market ...
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