I recently saw the investment memorandum for a company called Yulong Eco-Materials which is enabling for the fractional ownership of fine art. I think this means that you can own 2% of a Monet or a Fabergé egg.
This does not resonate with me in the least. I guess the art market is hot, but I would think you would just buy an index-fund of a collection (maybe like Bowie-bonds), not bet on a single piece. It’s like being a tier-three owner of the Golden State Warriors – there’s Lacob at T1, Guber at T2, and then a long list of single-digit owners who get a ring and great seats. I guess it’s cool to own a sliver of your favorite team, but using the word“owner” always seems to ring hollow to me outside of the Labob/Guber crew. At least you get to go to the games. If you own 3% of some Water Lillies, I can’t imagine you get to hang it on your wall for 9 days of the year.
Maybe it’s just about investment and has nothing to do with collecting.