In the current climate of economic uncertainty, the investment focus of HNWIs is shifting towards alternative investments, such as art and other collectibles. Besides emotional and social value unique to art and other collectibles, this asset class has shown low correlation with traditional asset classes, and hence is an ideal hedge against inflation and an important part of a HNWI’s portfolio diversification strategy.

Art and other collectibles have the potential to outperform equities over the long-term with The Economist Valuables Index of Art and Other Collectibles growing 64% faster than the MSCI World index since 2003. Based on research conducted by Deloitte and ArtTactic, 83% of art collectors surveyed indicated the emotional value of buying art is the key motivation, followed next by the social value for 60% of respondents. Investment returns and inflation hedging were highlighted by art collectors as other important drivers to buying art and other collectibles with response rates of 40% and 25% respectively.