The chances of finding a renowned, long-lost sculpture that will fetch millions at auction in your granny’s attic, is sadly slim. The same goes for unearthing an extraordinarily valuable painting in your local charity shop (although it does happen very, very occasionally, just watch Antiques Roadshow…).
The rarity of these moments doesn’t mean that buying art isn’t for you though; but equally, don’t cash in your life savings to buy one single spectacular piece. Chen Chowers, a relationship manager at HSBC Private Bank who focuses on clients across the art sector, does not like to call buying art an “investment” as such, because grand returns are not guaranteed. “It’s a very illiquid private market type of asset class,” she notes, meaning “you would place it on a longer-time horizon. Artworks come to market on average between 11 to 23 years, so [buying art] is not something [you do] for immediate financial gain. It’s not the same as investing in public equities [like stocks and shares].”
