Endorsing timeless art from South Africa and beyond
Stroll around the exhibitions at the Norval Foundation in Cape Town and you’ll discover not only a thrilling array of sculptures, paintings, craft-based art pieces and compelling digital video, but also what makes good art great: vitality.
The Norval Foundation building itself is architecturally inspiring and competes with the very best international museum buildings. Located adjacent to Table Mountain National Park, the Foundation further combines the experience of art with an appreciation for nature.
Sharing great art from private collections in this public space is the gift of the Norval Family through the Norval Foundation and embodies a true collaboration of art, education and cultural programmes. There is a growing trend amongst philanthropic families to agree the ‘purpose’ of their wealth and, increasingly, this includes leaving a legacy that benefits the wider community. A world-class art collection and cultural destination that the public can enjoy is one such avenue. The Foundation also hopes to serve as a platform for other families looking to realise their own families’ philanthropic objectives.
Stonehage Fleming’s own philanthropic strategy includes promoting excellence in the arts and supporting innovative, educational programmes designed to create a community of like-minded art enthusiasts. Accordingly, Stonehage Fleming is proud to be a Founding Partner of the Norval Foundation.
“Our association with the Foundation reflects our desire to support a sustainable centre for art and cultural expression from South Africa and beyond, and is a natural extension of our clients’ interests,” says Steven Kettle, Partner responsible for Art at Stonehage Fleming in the firm’s London office. Kettle is also an independent trustee of the Norval Foundation in his personal capacity.
Elana Brundyn, the Museum’s Director says, “Stonehage Fleming’s contribution to the museum is invaluable and not only financial. Steven Kettle’s 20 years of experience in advising international families and his passion and understanding of the complexities of building, managing and the strategic planning surrounding an art collection adds tremendous value to the management and promotion of the Norval Foundation.”
“The Norval Foundation is evidence that a passionate, yet disciplined approach to building a collection over many decades yields a collection of real importance. We are very proud to be associated with one of the first museums of international quality in South Africa,” Kettle concludes.
Managing an important art collection and its succession from one generation to another requires a number of skills. Skills that International Multi Family Office Stonehage Fleming has embedded in its offering. The firm has a dedicated team of six art professionals in London and Zurich to assist its international clients with the management of over twenty significant international art collections acquired over the past one hundred years.
Global investing: No such thing as bad timing
Recent studies have revealed that when a disciplined approach to the regular investment of funds offshore is followed, the timing of these transactions is less important than many investors perceive it to be.
Reyneke Van Wyk, Head of Investment Management at Stonehage Fleming in South Africa, confirmed this in an exercise that looked at three international portfolios, each following a different phasing-in approach over a period of 20 years, with all proceeds invested into the MSCI World Equity Index.
In this simulation, the first investor was able to transfer R4 million per annum at the best possible exchange rate each year for 20 years, while the second investor transferred the same amount over the same time period at the worst possible exchange rate each year. The third investor paid no regard to currency fluctuations and transferred two tranches of R2 million each year, in the months of June and December.
When comparing the first two scenarios, the investor who transferred funds at the best possible exchange rate only outperformed the other by an accumulative 12.1% (0.6% per annum) over 20 years.
When comparing to the third investor who transferred R2 million twice a year in consistent months, the difference between this portfolio and the one invested at the best possible exchange rate each year was only an accumulative 4.9% higher (0.2% per annum) over 20 years.
“While the difference between annual performance percentages may be considered nominal,” said Van Wyk, “the effort and luck required to try and time such transactions year in and year out at the best exchange rate over an extended period should not be underestimated.”
Van Wyk adds that, there is also the potential opportunity cost by delaying investment, especially over long periods.
Equity market studies offer insights into the risks inherent in attempting to time equity markets. The best and worst days of performance are often clustered together and given the fact that markets go up over time, the risk of missing out on the best days is the greatest and can have a very negative effect on long-term investment success.
“We are not undermining the importance of being macro-aware,” says van Wyk. “However, at Stonehage Fleming we do not believe that market elements outside of our control should be the main drivers of any long-term investment decision. The focus should rather be on the appropriate long-term investment strategy for the investor.”
“Based on my practical experience advising clients on offshore investments over the past 18 years, the transfer of funds overseas should be carried out in a disciplined manner without yielding too great a concern over currency forecasts. We believe the most effective way to do this is to follow a structured process and it should be done in line with an agreed long-term investment strategy, which has defined any surplus assets available for offshore investment.”
He concluded:
“Investing on a global basis should be a crucial element of any investor’s overall strategy, as it reduces volatility and risk and improves risk adjusted performance in the long term. Stonehage Fleming has previously stated that South African tax residents should be investing 100% of surplus assets internationally, with surplus being defined as all capital not required to live comfortably and run your business within the next 10 years. Investing surplus capital offshore in a disciplined, structured way, is important to ensure positive long-term wealth preservation and growth, with reduced overall risk.”
Inside the investment minds of 14 wealth managers
Kirsten Boldarin
Partner investment strategy & research, Stonehage Fleming, London
Equities will continue to grind higher, but volatility will remain at more heightened levels.
While profits have supported market valuations to date, we do see evidence of stretched expectations, in particular within the technology sector. We therefore want to own long-only managers where valuations are a key criteria in their stock selection process, particularly in the US. In addition, we have allocated more capital to long/short equity managers.
These managers can tactically adjust their net exposure and potentially capture alpha from higher levels of stock dispersion as the more momentum driven QE rally starts to fade.
We have exited our dedicated high yield bond exposure as the return for risk taken is less favourable.
We naturally avoid more complex strategies and structures, but as we enter the later stages of the cycle, we think this will be an important differentiator.
AI Can Boost Our Business
Getting technology right in the wealth sector is the biggest issue, and this publication interviewed Nicholas Bernard, CTO at Stonehage Fleming, to discuss how the firm is planning to exploit the world of tech.
“If you look at the big themes, they are robo-advisory, crypto currencies, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies,” Bernard said.
“I think AI is the technology we are most excited about. For us robo [technology] represents automation that has been around for some time.” “We have questions around crypto-currencies and whether they are currencies or just crypto-tokens. I think you need to have access to the crypto market to build some exposure but I think placing big bets at this point is not the right thing to do,” he continued.
Endorsing timeless art from South Africa and beyond
Stroll around the exhibitions at the Norval Foundation in Cape Town and you’ll discover not only a thrilling array of sculptures, paintings, craft-based art pieces and compelling digital video, but also what makes good art great: vitality.
The Norval Foundation building itself is architecturally inspiring and competes with the very best international museum buildings. Located adjacent to Table Mountain National Park, the Foundation further combines the experience of art with an appreciation for nature.
Sharing great art from private collections in this public space is the gift of the Norval Family through the Norval Foundation and embodies a true collaboration of art, education and cultural programmes. There is a growing trend amongst philanthropic families to agree the ‘purpose’ of their wealth and, increasingly, this includes leaving a legacy that benefits the wider community. A world-class art collection and cultural destination that the public can enjoy is one such avenue. The Foundation also hopes to serve as a platform for other families looking to realise their own families’ philanthropic objectives.
Stonehage Fleming’s own philanthropic strategy includes promoting excellence in the arts and supporting innovative, educational programmes designed to create a community of like-minded art enthusiasts. Accordingly, Stonehage Fleming is proud to be a Founding Partner of the Norval Foundation.
“Our association with the Foundation reflects our desire to support a sustainable centre for art and cultural expression from South Africa and beyond, and is a natural extension of our clients’ interests,” says Steven Kettle, Partner responsible for Art at Stonehage Fleming in the firm’s London office. Kettle is also an independent trustee of the Norval Foundation in his personal capacity.
Elana Brundyn, the Museum’s Director says, “Stonehage Fleming’s contribution to the museum is invaluable and not only financial. Steven Kettle’s 20 years of experience in advising international families and his passion and understanding of the complexities of building, managing and the strategic planning surrounding an art collection adds tremendous value to the management and promotion of the Norval Foundation.”
“The Norval Foundation is evidence that a passionate, yet disciplined approach to building a collection over many decades yields a collection of real importance. We are very proud to be associated with one of the first museums of international quality in South Africa,” Kettle concludes.
Managing an important art collection and its succession from one generation to another requires a number of skills. Skills that International Multi Family Office Stonehage Fleming has embedded in its offering. The firm has a dedicated team of six art professionals in London and Zurich to assist its international clients with the management of over twenty significant international art collections acquired over the past one hundred years.
Global investing: No such thing as bad timing
Recent studies have revealed that when a disciplined approach to the regular investment of funds offshore is followed, the timing of these transactions is less important than many investors perceive it to be.
Reyneke Van Wyk, Head of Investment Management at Stonehage Fleming in South Africa, confirmed this in an exercise that looked at three international portfolios, each following a different phasing-in approach over a period of 20 years, with all proceeds invested into the MSCI World Equity Index.
In this simulation, the first investor was able to transfer R4 million per annum at the best possible exchange rate each year for 20 years, while the second investor transferred the same amount over the same time period at the worst possible exchange rate each year. The third investor paid no regard to currency fluctuations and transferred two tranches of R2 million each year, in the months of June and December.
When comparing the first two scenarios, the investor who transferred funds at the best possible exchange rate only outperformed the other by an accumulative 12.1% (0.6% per annum) over 20 years.
When comparing to the third investor who transferred R2 million twice a year in consistent months, the difference between this portfolio and the one invested at the best possible exchange rate each year was only an accumulative 4.9% higher (0.2% per annum) over 20 years.
“While the difference between annual performance percentages may be considered nominal,” said Van Wyk, “the effort and luck required to try and time such transactions year in and year out at the best exchange rate over an extended period should not be underestimated.”
Van Wyk adds that, there is also the potential opportunity cost by delaying investment, especially over long periods.
Equity market studies offer insights into the risks inherent in attempting to time equity markets. The best and worst days of performance are often clustered together and given the fact that markets go up over time, the risk of missing out on the best days is the greatest and can have a very negative effect on long-term investment success.
“We are not undermining the importance of being macro-aware,” says van Wyk. “However, at Stonehage Fleming we do not believe that market elements outside of our control should be the main drivers of any long-term investment decision. The focus should rather be on the appropriate long-term investment strategy for the investor.”
“Based on my practical experience advising clients on offshore investments over the past 18 years, the transfer of funds overseas should be carried out in a disciplined manner without yielding too great a concern over currency forecasts. We believe the most effective way to do this is to follow a structured process and it should be done in line with an agreed long-term investment strategy, which has defined any surplus assets available for offshore investment.”
He concluded:
“Investing on a global basis should be a crucial element of any investor’s overall strategy, as it reduces volatility and risk and improves risk adjusted performance in the long term. Stonehage Fleming has previously stated that South African tax residents should be investing 100% of surplus assets internationally, with surplus being defined as all capital not required to live comfortably and run your business within the next 10 years. Investing surplus capital offshore in a disciplined, structured way, is important to ensure positive long-term wealth preservation and growth, with reduced overall risk.”
Inside the investment minds of 14 wealth managers
Kirsten Boldarin
Partner investment strategy & research, Stonehage Fleming, London
Equities will continue to grind higher, but volatility will remain at more heightened levels.
While profits have supported market valuations to date, we do see evidence of stretched expectations, in particular within the technology sector. We therefore want to own long-only managers where valuations are a key criteria in their stock selection process, particularly in the US. In addition, we have allocated more capital to long/short equity managers.
These managers can tactically adjust their net exposure and potentially capture alpha from higher levels of stock dispersion as the more momentum driven QE rally starts to fade.
We have exited our dedicated high yield bond exposure as the return for risk taken is less favourable.
We naturally avoid more complex strategies and structures, but as we enter the later stages of the cycle, we think this will be an important differentiator.
AI Can Boost Our Business
Getting technology right in the wealth sector is the biggest issue, and this publication interviewed Nicholas Bernard, CTO at Stonehage Fleming, to discuss how the firm is planning to exploit the world of tech.
“If you look at the big themes, they are robo-advisory, crypto currencies, artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies,” Bernard said.
“I think AI is the technology we are most excited about. For us robo [technology] represents automation that has been around for some time.” “We have questions around crypto-currencies and whether they are currencies or just crypto-tokens. I think you need to have access to the crypto market to build some exposure but I think placing big bets at this point is not the right thing to do,” he continued.
Helping to make the earnings from professional sport last a lifetime
Matthew Fleming, a partner at Stonehage Fleming Group and himself a former professional cricketer, said sportsmen and women are a fairly unique group because their earning power typically peaks at a young age.
They acquire their wealth at a young age, when they have had little opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and perspective to completely understand the impact on their personal life or take a long term view of life.
He added: “Because of their youth they are heavily dependent on other professionals for advice, so often the first professional relationship or first adviser-type relationship is critical in setting the benchmark for governance, professionalism, for long-termism rather than short-termism.
The first decision they make about the adviser is absolutely critical and sadly they are not in the position to judge the quality of their first adviser that well.”
Succession Planning: Strategies that work
It is often repeated that families go from ‘clogs to clogs in three generations’; wealth earned in one generation seldom lasts through to the third.
Given the hard work involved in building such fortunes, it can be difficult to understand how such seemingly successful families so often fail in their attempts to transfer wealth.
Some immediate explanations spring to mind: a lack of diversification of assets, insufficient interest from the inheriting generation, or rigid control by the previous generation.
Stonehage Fleming appoints Jersey Partner
Stonehage Fleming, one of the world’s leading independently owned family offices, announces the appointment of Paul Matthams as Partner within the Family Office division.
Paul joins from leading offshore law firm Carey Olsen where he has been a Partner for nearly twenty years as well as Head of the firm’s Trusts and Private Wealth Group from October 2005 to June 2016. Paul has over thirty years of experience in the Jersey financial services industry both as a lawyer and as a professional trustee, as well as a notary public and is a leading authority on trusts and pensions. He has advised individuals and companies on trusts, estate planning and pension issues, and has acted for high net worth individuals and families, family offices, and private trust companies. He has also been regularly instructed by leading financial institutions and trustee boards including public and private sector pension scheme trustees.
Paul is a long-standing member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Association of Pension Lawyers. He is a former Chairman of the Jersey Association of Pension Funds and the Jersey Pensions Association and was an original member of the Jersey Finance Pensions Working Party.
Commenting on the appointment, Ana Ventura, Partner and Head of Jersey Family Office said: “Stonehage Fleming prides itself on its exceptional breadth and depth of technical and practical knowledge. Paul’s seniority, wealth of experience and technical expertise will be an invaluable addition to our team in Jersey and will further enhance the Group’s Family Office division. I am pleased to welcome him to Stonehage Fleming.
Paul Matthams said: “The needs of clients are constantly evolving, as is the Family Office industry. Stonehage Fleming’s business DNA is to learn and develop, and in a changing environment there is a compelling need to offer broader services and a deeper understanding of the issues our clients may face. They are true pioneers within the family office industry and they provide a very distinct integrated family office approach. It gives me great pleasure to become part of the Group at such an exciting time on its journey.”
Stonehage Fleming bolsters Wealth Planning team with Senior Hire
Stonehage Fleming, one of the world’s leading independently owned family offices, announces the expansion of its Wealth Planning division with the appointment of Matthew Brown as Director.
With sixteen years’ financial planning experience Matthew joins Stonehage Fleming from Thomas Miller Wealth Management, where he was appointed Partner in 2015, having first joined the firm in 2006 (Thomas Miller acquired Broadstone/BDO Investment Management in December 2014).
Matthew will work closely with the existing team and assist in developing and delivering the wealth planning offering to the UK market. He will be based in the firm’s London office and will report to Susie Hillier, Partner and Head of Wealth Planning. His appointment was effective from Monday, 11th June.
The news comes on the heels of three client facing additional hires within the wealth planning team in London. Ashley Pontiggia joins us from Saunderson House later in the month as a Senior Financial Planner. He will be joining Ketan Patel who arrived into the team during May and they will be followed by a further new Planner during August.
Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning sits within the wider Stonehage Fleming Group and provides integrated financial planning and investment advice in the UK across investments, pensions and protection.
Commenting on the appointment, Susie Hillier said: “I am very pleased to welcome Matthew to the Wealth Planning team. Close relationships and a deep understanding of our clients is at the heart of our offering. Matthew’s seniority and experience working with HNW individuals with complex needs makes him well-suited to contribute significantly to our rapidly expanding, talented team.”
Matthew Brown said: “The needs of our clients are constantly evolving and we as advisers must be able to offer broader servicers and have a deeper understanding of the issues they may face. Stonehage Fleming is uniquely positioned with their distinctive integrated approach to wealth management. It is an exciting time for the company and it gives me great pleasure to be a part of the journey.”
Helping to make the earnings from professional sport last a lifetime
Matthew Fleming, a partner at Stonehage Fleming Group and himself a former professional cricketer, said sportsmen and women are a fairly unique group because their earning power typically peaks at a young age.
They acquire their wealth at a young age, when they have had little opportunity to develop the knowledge, skills and perspective to completely understand the impact on their personal life or take a long term view of life.
He added: “Because of their youth they are heavily dependent on other professionals for advice, so often the first professional relationship or first adviser-type relationship is critical in setting the benchmark for governance, professionalism, for long-termism rather than short-termism.
The first decision they make about the adviser is absolutely critical and sadly they are not in the position to judge the quality of their first adviser that well.”
Succession Planning: Strategies that work
It is often repeated that families go from ‘clogs to clogs in three generations’; wealth earned in one generation seldom lasts through to the third.
Given the hard work involved in building such fortunes, it can be difficult to understand how such seemingly successful families so often fail in their attempts to transfer wealth.
Some immediate explanations spring to mind: a lack of diversification of assets, insufficient interest from the inheriting generation, or rigid control by the previous generation.
Stonehage Fleming appoints Jersey Partner
Stonehage Fleming, one of the world’s leading independently owned family offices, announces the appointment of Paul Matthams as Partner within the Family Office division.
Paul joins from leading offshore law firm Carey Olsen where he has been a Partner for nearly twenty years as well as Head of the firm’s Trusts and Private Wealth Group from October 2005 to June 2016. Paul has over thirty years of experience in the Jersey financial services industry both as a lawyer and as a professional trustee, as well as a notary public and is a leading authority on trusts and pensions. He has advised individuals and companies on trusts, estate planning and pension issues, and has acted for high net worth individuals and families, family offices, and private trust companies. He has also been regularly instructed by leading financial institutions and trustee boards including public and private sector pension scheme trustees.
Paul is a long-standing member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Association of Pension Lawyers. He is a former Chairman of the Jersey Association of Pension Funds and the Jersey Pensions Association and was an original member of the Jersey Finance Pensions Working Party.
Commenting on the appointment, Ana Ventura, Partner and Head of Jersey Family Office said: “Stonehage Fleming prides itself on its exceptional breadth and depth of technical and practical knowledge. Paul’s seniority, wealth of experience and technical expertise will be an invaluable addition to our team in Jersey and will further enhance the Group’s Family Office division. I am pleased to welcome him to Stonehage Fleming.
Paul Matthams said: “The needs of clients are constantly evolving, as is the Family Office industry. Stonehage Fleming’s business DNA is to learn and develop, and in a changing environment there is a compelling need to offer broader services and a deeper understanding of the issues our clients may face. They are true pioneers within the family office industry and they provide a very distinct integrated family office approach. It gives me great pleasure to become part of the Group at such an exciting time on its journey.”
Stonehage Fleming bolsters Wealth Planning team with Senior Hire
Stonehage Fleming, one of the world’s leading independently owned family offices, announces the expansion of its Wealth Planning division with the appointment of Matthew Brown as Director.
With sixteen years’ financial planning experience Matthew joins Stonehage Fleming from Thomas Miller Wealth Management, where he was appointed Partner in 2015, having first joined the firm in 2006 (Thomas Miller acquired Broadstone/BDO Investment Management in December 2014).
Matthew will work closely with the existing team and assist in developing and delivering the wealth planning offering to the UK market. He will be based in the firm’s London office and will report to Susie Hillier, Partner and Head of Wealth Planning. His appointment was effective from Monday, 11th June.
The news comes on the heels of three client facing additional hires within the wealth planning team in London. Ashley Pontiggia joins us from Saunderson House later in the month as a Senior Financial Planner. He will be joining Ketan Patel who arrived into the team during May and they will be followed by a further new Planner during August.
Stonehage Fleming Wealth Planning sits within the wider Stonehage Fleming Group and provides integrated financial planning and investment advice in the UK across investments, pensions and protection.
Commenting on the appointment, Susie Hillier said: “I am very pleased to welcome Matthew to the Wealth Planning team. Close relationships and a deep understanding of our clients is at the heart of our offering. Matthew’s seniority and experience working with HNW individuals with complex needs makes him well-suited to contribute significantly to our rapidly expanding, talented team.”
Matthew Brown said: “The needs of our clients are constantly evolving and we as advisers must be able to offer broader servicers and have a deeper understanding of the issues they may face. Stonehage Fleming is uniquely positioned with their distinctive integrated approach to wealth management. It is an exciting time for the company and it gives me great pleasure to be a part of the journey.”
Next Gen’ clients seek greener, leaner wealth managers
Ethically minded, obsessed with technology and wealthy — the next generation of private client is a new breed of customer that wants a new kind of wealth manager to match.
The younger client is more interested in an iPhone-friendly investment portfolio than an adviser with the correct width of pinstripe and will want to debate the merits of ethical and environmental funds rather than take a trip to the golf course.
“The attitude of the younger generation of client is very different [from their parents],” says Matthew Fleming, partner at family office Stonehage Fleming. “There has been an unmistakable shift in the past five years towards impact and sustainability through overtly responsible investing.” Faced with the realities of climate change and bringing up children, wealthy millennial investors want to know their money is doing good rather than adding to the world’s problems, say wealth managers. Just as they might buy organic produce, they want their adviser to show them sustainable investments too.
More than 40 per cent of the 45 wealth managers surveyed by Wealth-X on behalf of the FT say they are focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes as a way of appealing to the next generation. Many have introduced funds or portfolios or are launching new ESG services to enhance their offering in this area. But why is this so important?
How to manage your passion investment in Art
Whether one owns art for pleasure or as an investment, the volume of administration related to managing a collection is the same: initial due diligence, lending to museums, maintaining an inventory, transport, storage, insurance, valuations, the structure through which the collection is owned, cataloguing, strategic planning for the future (including inheritance planning), and more.
Inevitably there comes a time when the collection is so vast, and the transactions so complex, that the owner realises that he or she needs assistance and guidance to address day-to-day matters as they arise.
Choosing an expert
The decision about what type of assistance is required must start with a thorough and honest appraisal of both the collector and the collection’s needs. Dedicated art advisers tend to focus on the minutiae of a transaction rather than the lifecycle of the artwork after the transaction. A collection manager, by definition, has broader knowledge and knows where to find the right expertise. Some aspects of managing the collection—such as specific art historical research, conservation, or legal and tax advice—will demand significant specialised professional input that a seasoned collection manager can easily draw upon.
If the collection manager works within the context of a family office they will also recognise that the long-term preservation of an art collection across multiple generations, and decisions about the future of the collection, are far more dependent on the collector and his or her family than on the collection manager.
Italy perceived as trouble — but not by all
Money managers are carefully watching the political situation in Italy unfold, deeming the country “too big to fail.”
But sources said they’re not just watching for negative investment effects from the country’s political and fiscal problems: They’re also looking for opportunities to add to positions. “Political risk is back with a vengeance in Italy,” said Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal & General Investment Management in London.
“As the third-largest global issuer of government bonds after the USA and Japan, Italy is too big to be allowed to fail without severe contagion to the global financial system. However, it is also too big to comfortably bail out using tried and tested mechanisms.” Recent weeks have seen Italy’s population and investors forced to reckon with a populist government coalition and a potential snap election.
Next Gen’ clients seek greener, leaner wealth managers
Ethically minded, obsessed with technology and wealthy — the next generation of private client is a new breed of customer that wants a new kind of wealth manager to match.
The younger client is more interested in an iPhone-friendly investment portfolio than an adviser with the correct width of pinstripe and will want to debate the merits of ethical and environmental funds rather than take a trip to the golf course.
“The attitude of the younger generation of client is very different [from their parents],” says Matthew Fleming, partner at family office Stonehage Fleming. “There has been an unmistakable shift in the past five years towards impact and sustainability through overtly responsible investing.” Faced with the realities of climate change and bringing up children, wealthy millennial investors want to know their money is doing good rather than adding to the world’s problems, say wealth managers. Just as they might buy organic produce, they want their adviser to show them sustainable investments too.
More than 40 per cent of the 45 wealth managers surveyed by Wealth-X on behalf of the FT say they are focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes as a way of appealing to the next generation. Many have introduced funds or portfolios or are launching new ESG services to enhance their offering in this area. But why is this so important?
How to manage your passion investment in Art
Whether one owns art for pleasure or as an investment, the volume of administration related to managing a collection is the same: initial due diligence, lending to museums, maintaining an inventory, transport, storage, insurance, valuations, the structure through which the collection is owned, cataloguing, strategic planning for the future (including inheritance planning), and more.
Inevitably there comes a time when the collection is so vast, and the transactions so complex, that the owner realises that he or she needs assistance and guidance to address day-to-day matters as they arise.
Choosing an expert
The decision about what type of assistance is required must start with a thorough and honest appraisal of both the collector and the collection’s needs. Dedicated art advisers tend to focus on the minutiae of a transaction rather than the lifecycle of the artwork after the transaction. A collection manager, by definition, has broader knowledge and knows where to find the right expertise. Some aspects of managing the collection—such as specific art historical research, conservation, or legal and tax advice—will demand significant specialised professional input that a seasoned collection manager can easily draw upon.
If the collection manager works within the context of a family office they will also recognise that the long-term preservation of an art collection across multiple generations, and decisions about the future of the collection, are far more dependent on the collector and his or her family than on the collection manager.
Italy perceived as trouble — but not by all
Money managers are carefully watching the political situation in Italy unfold, deeming the country “too big to fail.”
But sources said they’re not just watching for negative investment effects from the country’s political and fiscal problems: They’re also looking for opportunities to add to positions. “Political risk is back with a vengeance in Italy,” said Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal & General Investment Management in London.
“As the third-largest global issuer of government bonds after the USA and Japan, Italy is too big to be allowed to fail without severe contagion to the global financial system. However, it is also too big to comfortably bail out using tried and tested mechanisms.” Recent weeks have seen Italy’s population and investors forced to reckon with a populist government coalition and a potential snap election.