The Fine Art of Finance. The Visual Arts Sector as an Investment Opportunity

Abstract

The growth of the art market and its infrastructure in the last ten years is fuelingan increasing interest in art as an asset class. This paper tries to analyze how investorsare treating art as an asset class and how art compares to traditional assets suchas equities and bonds. More specifically, the research focuses on the analysis of theart market from a financial point of view, in order to investigate the characteristicsand motivations of the speculative demand and the role played by art advisors. Aspecial attention will be paid to art funds with the aim of presenting the specificitiesof these alternative investment vehicles.