HNIs are turning into ‘investor-collectors’

According, to the latest Cap Gemini & Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report reveals, uncertain financial markets are driving many high-net-worth (HNI) individuals to become ‘investor-collectors’. Their thought process goes beyond the actual simple investment calculations; it's about cultivating and sharing and learning more about a passion.

It points out that HNIs are returning to passion investments, approaching them as ‘investor-collectors’ especially with financial markets still in flux. They are seeking to collect things perceived to carry tangible long-term value. Art and other collectibles like coins, antiques or wines are attracting these ‘investor-collectors’ the most. Indian HNIs mostly restrict their passion investments to tangible asset classes as they are wary of sophisticated financial instruments and are more conservative in their investment strategies, it states.

No surprise, wealth managers in India are incorporating art into the HNIs investor’s overall asset allocation decision. There is a perceptible change in the investors’ behavior and mindset. Pankaj Narain, director, head private clients (banking & investments), Deutsche Bank (India) concurs with the fact that HNIs have indeed began spreading their investments to diverse asset classes. Rashid Rana, Jayashree Chakravarthy, Paresh Maity, Arpana Caur, Jayashree Burman and Jagannath Panda are some of the noteworthy names currently dominating the Indian art scene whom you may track.

It is advisable to have a portfolio with both modern and contemporary works as each constituent has a marked potential. You may invest part of your folio in the young and upcoming contemporaries like Prajjwal Choudhury, Rahul Arya, Inder Vir, Anu Agarwal, Nikhileswar Baruah, Amarnath Sharma, Heeral Trivedi, Rahul Chowdhury, Jignasa Doshi, Hindol Brahmabhatt, Jagannath Mohapatra, George Martin, Nitish Bhattacharjee, Prasanta Sahu, Jagdish Chander, and Meetali Singh.

Genuine art lovers and investors can make good returns if their choice of works in terms of works and price point is precise. The process of buying art is more about forming a close personal connection with the piece you wish to acquire.