Art investments in wealth management

: possible applications of DLT

Abstract

During volatile investment markets, investors look for alternative asset classes to outperform or hedge risks. Simultaneously, notable artworks like Gustav Klimt's "A Lady with a Fan" are attaining unprecedented valuations. An increasing number of wealth managers in the German market are now considering advisory services for art investment and management. This dissertation examines whether (1) demand among high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals for art investments is increasing, whether (2) the art market offers optimization potential for investor portfolios, (3) what potential Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) offers for investing and managing art. The application of management theory aims to contextualize the strategic trajectories of wealth managers and their assimilation of innovative concepts like DLT. Complemented by secondary research, semi-structured expert interviews provide deeper insights into DLT, art, and wealth management. Quantitative analysis further enhances the research, comparing art's performance to conventional asset classes like the stock market, gold, and private markets like private equity or venture capital. Porter's Five Forces Analysis and Scenario Planning provide information on the current market and competitive situation, which leads to the assumption that the art market and therefore the investment opportunities will also increase. Conversely, the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis provides only limited evidence of the potential of art as well as the adaptation of DLT. Although the adaptation of DLT in the art industry is still limited and art as an asset class is rather unlikely to outperform, various approaches are offered to achieve Competitive Advantage with a holistic offering in wealth management.

Date of Award	23 Oct 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Peter V. Rajsingh (Supervisor)