investing in masterpieces becomes accessible

Blue-chip art, or iconic 20th-century masterpieces

Art, valued at over $2100 billion in 2022 according to Deloitte, is gradually becoming a key element of individual’s wealth seeking diversification. However, the market is diverse and performances vary depending on the style, era, or medium. In other words, it’s a sector for connoisseurs.

In this context, Arnaud Dubois and François Carbone, respectively founders of an artistic asset management company and the crowdfunding platform Anaxago, have just announced the launch of Matis. Having obtained accreditation from the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) at the end of 2023, the company offers the opportunity to invest in “club deals” of works by iconic 20th century artists, the blue chips art, whose acquisition price is often above one million euros. Since its commercial launch in May 2023, Matis has finalized 7 club deals, valued between 500,000 and 1,700,000 euros, including works by Andy Warhol, Yves Klein, Simon Hantaï, Jean Dubuffet, François-Xavier Lalanne and Yayoi Kusama.

According to the company, the blue chip art market is little influenced by inflationary and monetary contexts. The figures are eloquent. The overall performances of this segment have surpassed those of the S&P 500 over more than 20 years according to the evolution of the Artprice 100 Index, offering a mean annual growth rate twice as high. This phenomenon is linked to the dynamism of the segment: purchases and resales are particularly frequent, with 80% of the works held by art dealers sold within less than two years.

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Matis offers an opportunity to indirectly invest in these works of art through convertible bonds. In other words, don’t anticipate being able to admire the artwork at home: this is an investment in a purely financial asset. It entitles the holder to benefit from a proportional share of any potential capital gain generated when the artwork is resold, proportional to their investment. The length of fund immobilization and the return on the operation are only known at the time of unwinding.

The entry ticket is currently set at 20,000 euros, with a 10% entry fee. Aligning its interests with those of its clients, the management company also takes a cut from the capital gains. Potential earnings are thus shared at a height of 80% for the investors and 20% for the company. Like other diversification assets, there is a very real risk of losing capital: it is therefore important to invest with a cool head looking at market data and not as a “love at first sight” impulse. The resale price and profit are indeed subject to many factors, like the evolution of demand or the artist’s quote.

The declared objective of Matis is to exceed the performance of the Artprice 100 Index, which has recorded an annual average of 9% since 2000. The company targets 200 million euros of investments in the next 3 years, aspiring to become the market leader in art investment, estimated at 15 billion euros a year in the long term.