More Than a Collection: Managing Art and Collectibles as Part of Family Wealth

According to UBS’s Global Family Office Report, alternative assets now comprise approximately 44% of the average family office portfolio. While artwork and antiques represent only a small portion of that allocation on average, many families hold collections that carry substantial financial, historical and sentimental value. At the same time, fewer than half of surveyed family offices reported having formal governance frameworks or wealth succession plans in place, underscoring the importance of integrating significant assets into a comprehensive planning strategy.

For many affluent families and family offices, some of the most valuable assets are not found in investment portfolios or operating businesses, but hanging on walls, displayed in homes or stored in vaults and warehouses. Artwork, collectibles, rare memorabilia, jewelry, wine collections and other tangible assets can represent millions of dollars in family wealth. Yet these holdings are often among the least reviewed, least documented and least strategically managed assets on a family’s balance sheet.

Bahl Family Office

Bahl Family Office was created as a Single Family Office & then grow into a Multi Family Office with an aggressive style investment philosophy with a portfolio expertise in Physical Assets.

A proven investment approach is employed to seek out globally leading fund managers across traditional asset classes as well as alternatives (Private Equity, Venture Capital and Hedge Funds), with a successful track record.

BFO builds on the unique and diverse experience of its team members, who have an in-depth understanding of our core markets and corporate finance with managerial background in investment banking, asset management and entrepreneurship.

Art and the family office

While collectors buy for the love of art, those who manage their wealth can provide an essential service by considering the financial implications.

For many affluent families, a family office has become an indispensable ally in preserving and growing wealth and managing financial complexities. More than 4,500 family offices (triple the number in 2019) together manage some $6 trillion in assets. Yet even as they advise on investments ranging from private equity to real estate and mineral rights, family offices may not fully account for the implications of another kind of asset: art collections.

A passion or a financial asset?

Of course, a painting is not a share of stock. Most collectors invest for personal pleasure and buy what they love, The emotional component makes a potential acquisition more nuanced and subjective than, say, buying into a hedge fund. Moreover, the art market can be complex, opaque and mystifying to outsiders.

As such, family offices may be inclined to focus on other assets and leave the art collections to the family. Yet that may be a missed opportunity. While collecting will always be driven by an individual’s passion, joy and artistic tastes, a family office, often with the help of external art experts, can provide vital strategic services across the full life cycle of collecting, from acquisition to managing a collection and creating a legacy.

Find out more

More Than a Collection: Managing Art and Collectibles as Part of Family Wealth

Bahl Family Office

Art and the family office

Join Our Mailing List

This website uses cookies.