Art as an investment is up there with the best performing asset classes in recent years.
First and foremost, blue-chip art has strong historical performance, with average annual growth of 8.9% since 2000 – over 3x better than stock markets like the S&P 500 according to data from the ArtPrice 100© Index1. Art as an investment is up there with the best performing asset classes in recent years.
There is a lot of art to choose from – the market size reached $67.8 billion in 20222 .This is just the value of art sold in a year; Deloitte estimates that there is $1.7 trillion3 in art around the world. This compares to $9.8 trillion in private equity funds4.
There is also something very special about art compared to many other investments you may consider. Most of us will have an emotional reaction when we are presented with a new piece of art. Whether you love a piece or hate it, the chances are it is likely to spark some debate. Investing in art is the same – it is the one investment you will never tire of talking about.
Art can be an important part of your investment portfolio. It has low correlation with traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds, and can be a hedge against inflation. Finance professionals have come to realise the benefits of art as a diversification tool – 85% of wealth managers believe art investment should be included in a balanced portfolio5.
Art’s historic performance has also shown it to be an effective store of value during economic instability and downturns. Analysis of art’s performance during a recession demonstrated it didn’t suffer as much, and recovered much quicker, than more traditional investments.
A recent survey of wealthy investors conducted by Mintus found that 42%6 include art in their portfolio. Where art was included in an investment portfolio, it accounted for 6% of portfolio value on average. Of the wealthy investors with a portfolio of greater than $5m in assets, 80% had art in their portfolio.
Mintus has a sophisticated sourcing model and has developed a target list of potential artist offerings, compiled through an analysis of market performance and artwork investment criteria. Our main criteria are:
1. The artist must have a sustained auction track record, as this is a strong indicator of an artist’s secondary market.
2. The artist must have international appeal in order to maximise the pool of potential buyers worldwide.
3. The artist’s market must show recent price velocity, a gauge of an artist’s market momentum.
4. The artist must have positive exhibition trajectory, a gauge of an artist’s cultural value.
As part of this ongoing work, Mintus uses a wealth of data around artists’ sale prices that can be a useful aid to art investment decisions, which we make available to prospective investors who sign up to our platform.
Based on this data and the extensive experience of our art experts, Mintus focusses on Post-War & Contemporary Art. These categories have grown significantly faster than the overall art market. Since 1998, the ArtPrice Contemporary Art Index has grown by over 358% and the ArtPrice Post-War Art Index has grown 267%. Over the same period, the ArtPrice Global Art Index has grown by only 18%.7
Fractional art investment allows you to invest in paintings worth millions alongside other investors, to take advantage of the attractive potential returns and to diversify your portfolio. Mintus art experts take care of sourcing, selecting, authenticating and valuing art investments on your behalf. Removing these barriers allows you to invest in this attractive asset class starting from a minimum investment of $3,000.
It is important to remember that we are talking about physical art, and not NFTs (non-fungible tokens). The erratic volatility of the NFT market is a far cry from the steady uptrend of the traditional art market.
Register as an investor now to explore our art investment opportunities.
We answer some of your common questions here.
We welcome any owner who wants to unlock liquidity from their collections to contact our Fine Art Team. This includes individual investors, galleries, institutions, and artists. Please reach out if you're interested in listing your artwork on the Mintus platform.
All artwork offered by Mintus is stored in climate-controlled, specialist art storage facilities, under a Mintus account. Current paintings are held in a facility in Delaware.
Artwork is acquired through our unique relationships with the world’s most renowned collectors and galleries. Our Fine Art Team marries their own expertise with insights from fellow industry experts to identify one-of-a-kind investment opportunities from established artists with high-growth potential. Our team examines metrics such as the artist’s market track record, recent price velocity and momentum, and the size of their international collector base when making investment decisions.
If you need support you can send an email to [email protected] or schedule a call using the links on each page of our website. If you need to make a complaint you can write to [email protected]. A description of our complaints policy is set out in the Investment Terms & Conditions for each investment.
Mintus Trading Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom under firm reference number 942522. For more details on our regulatory permissions please see the Financial Services Register.
For more information on risks, see the Memorandum for the relevant artwork and the important disclosures.
Mintus does not sell NFTs. NFTs are digital assets. Mintus enables qualifying investors to participate in the art market by purchasing interests in high value, physical artworks. Mintus’ platform facilitates investment in real, iconic artworks created by established artists.
Mintus is planning to in the future introduce a Secondary Market for investors in permitted locations, which will facilitate selling of shares to buyers, dependant on demand. Further details, including the timing relating to launching any such Secondary Market, will be notified to customers in due course.
According to the regulations, certain investments can only be made available to investors who fall within these categories and Mintus must also follow appropriateness requirements when registering investors.
Fees are dependent on the specific artwork and the specific structure of the investment opportunity. Fees are clearly shown in advance for each artwork / investment opportunity, as displayed in the Memorandum that relates to the artwork / investment opportunity; this document is available to download from the profile of each artwork under the Opportunities section.
Both individual investors and institutions can invest in artworks. Individual investors will need to declare themselves to be ‘high net worth individuals’, ‘sophisticated investors’ or 'qualified investors' during the account creation process. Individual investors will also need to pass an appropriateness assessment. Professional investors including wealth managers, private banks and family offices should contact our team for more information on investing as an entity or managing multiple client accounts on the platform.
For the opportunities listed, a minimum investment of $3,000 is required however investments can be for any amount above this and generally range from $15,000 to $100,000. International payments are accepted.
Funds can be sent from any denomination into our USD bank account. We will show you the estimated cost in your chosen currency during the investment process, however, this may change at the point of transfer and does not account for fees charged by your bank. When transferring, your bank may show an estimated conversion; alternatively, the funds can be sent in your local currency and converted at the point of receipt. Other transfer services such as Wise display exact fee and currency conversion rates to ensure you're sending the subscribed amount.
Mintus does not provide tax advice. We recommend that investors obtain their own tax advice as every person has specific tax circumstances. Generally, income and profits generated from your investment can be subject to either income tax or capital gains tax (depending on the individual investor and the specific structure of the investment). Artworks are not income-generating during the period they’re held. If you are unsure about your tax or other legal requirements, please speak to a professional advisor.
Not directly. In order to take an investment from one artwork to another, shares would need to be sold to a willing buyer on the future Mintus Secondary Market and then proceeds reinvested on the platform. The Secondary Market will only be available in permitted locations.
Typically, valuations occur at the end of June and December, with reports distributed to investors as soon as possible thereafter.
All actions in relation to the asset are at the discretion of Mintus. Mintus will communicate with investors on a six-monthly basis with an update on the net asset value, and any further news will be communicated on an ad-hoc basis.
Distributable profits will be made available to investors as soon as possible, once all sale-related administration is complete.
Profits will be received into your Mintus wallet, with the option to withdraw the profits into a bank account or reinvest on the Mintus platform.
Please fill out the form below to get in touch with us, and we'll contact you as soon as possible.