Art Funds - Old Money Meets the Street

I love this world, I truly do.  As soon as you thought the street had permeated every aspect of life, they come back and surprise you.  Art funds.  Yeah, I get it, I really do.  Art is an investment much like everything else.  You buy it, hang it (maybe) and hope the value goes up so you can sell it to someone else who runs a hedge fund, is flush with cash and wants to look old money.

The best though - 5 and 20.

(NYT) Art aficionados have long held themselves to be in a more elite class than Wall Street speculators.

Now, their worlds are colliding as a new crop of financial firms move to sell shares in pools of paintings — and some fear the results may resemble the chaotic splashed canvases of Jackson Pollock.

The two make for an odd combination. While many investors favor transparency and asset gathering, art dealers generally like secrecy and exclusive holdings.

The idea behind many art funds is relatively simple: A few big investors put up money to help a money manager buy paintings. Smaller investors buy ownership units, whose values are tied to the underlying art. For the privilege, they pay fees of around 5 percent of the assets and 20 percent of the profits. 

 The article:  Art Funds