Alternative investments: Your guide to investing in art, handbags, jewellry, wine and whiskey

Alternative. It’s a loaded word isn’t it? When it comes to investments, an alternative investment can be defined as a financial asset that does not fall under a conventional investment category, like stocks or bonds. They can include real estate, private equity, commodities and collectables such as art, jewellery, wine, whiskey and handbags.

It’s this latter category of alternative investments – collectables – that we focused on in the Winter edition of IMAGE Magazine (on shelves November 10th). During my research for the piece, I spoke to four experts who shared so much quality advice and information that we decided to write a spin-off series – Your Alternative Investment Mini Guides.

Speaking to leaders in their fields, we share top tips; hints on ‘ones to watch’; and no-nonsense investment advice in this series. Follow the links below to find out more about the collectable that excites you most.

Your Alternative Investment Mini Guides:

• How the luxury market is changing and why it is still booming in Ireland
• Jewellery with Claire-Laurence Mestrallet of Adams
• Art with expert Jane Beatty
• Whiskey & Wine with Bubble Brothers
• Handbags with Morgane Halimi of Sotheby’s

So, what are collectables? 

Collectibles are anything of value that people might collect – from stamps, coins and cars to NFTs. Investing in collectibles can be a great way to diversify your portfolio, while also owning things you love. Like any investment, there’s no guarantee you’ll make money but with the right advice, you’ll be in a more informed place to invest in something that could appreciate over time. Though the term ‘collectables’ covers a multitude, rare collectibles can appreciate significantly over time.

Take, for example, the ultra-rare “Rabbit,” a stainless steel sculpture created in 1986 by artist Jeff Koons (if you’ve been in Bilbao you’ll have seen Koons’ 43-foot-tall living plant sculpture of a West Highland terrier, the Puppy, outside the Guggenheim), which sold at auction for $91.1 million in May 2019. It’s still the most expensive piece of art ever sold by a living artist.

Given the origin of the word ‘investment’ was tailored from the Latin verb ‘investire’, meaning ‘to clothe’, it seems appropriate to include handbags and jewellery, but it would be remiss to exclude wine, whiskey in our guides.  Expert reports point to rare whiskey as one of the best performing collectable commodities of the decade, with Irish whiskey proving the best bet with growth of about 500% in the last 10 years and it’s expected to double by 2030.

Find out more about these areas in your Mini Guides or pick up a copy of IMAGE Magazine today. Don’t forget if you are a Business Club member or Premium subscriber, you have access to all Guides and e-versions of the Magazine here.