Survey: women powering the art world and trends in the art market

A survey by The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting in 2023 reveals insights into high net worth collectors. But there are ways that early investors with limited funds can get started too.

Jana Hlistova

Nov 19, 2023

Welcome to our #213 weekly newsletter.

“For women taking control of their financial future”

-Jana Hlistova

From The Purse

In this week’s newsletter, we summarise the key points from the survey by The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting in 2023. And we highlight women investors and trends in adding more female artists to collections.

But investing in art need not only be for high-net worth individuals. For early investors or investors with limited funds, there are a number of ways to get started.

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And you can review the news in brief so you stay on top of global financial, economic and investing trends.

I hope you enjoy this week’s newsletter.

Until next week,

Jana

Survey: women powering the art world and trends in the art market

A survey by The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting in 2023 reveals insights into high net worth collectors. But there are ways that early art investors with limited funds can get started too.

A survey by The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting in 2023 has revealed the following trends of high-net worth (HNW), including women investors and female artists:

General Overview of the Art Market:

HNW collectors showed strong spending in art during the first half of 2023, with a cautious approach and optimism for 2024.
International trade in art and antiques was vibrant, with record-high levels of imports and exports in 2022 and early 2023.

Spending Trends Among HNW Collectors:

Median expenditure on art and antiques remained stable in 2023 compared to 2022, with significant spending from collectors in Mainland China.
Allocation to art in wealth portfolios decreased slightly in 2023, indicating a more cautious approach to collecting.
A substantial share of HNW collectors used credit or loans for purchasing art, with a higher average for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) collectors.
Majority of spending was on paintings, with a notable decrease in expenditure on digital art and NFTs.

Women in Art Collecting:

Women outspent men for the third consecutive year, with a median expenditure higher than their male counterparts ie at $72,500.
However, more men were high-spenders compared to women, with double the number of men than women in the narrow segment of respondents spending more than $1 million in each period.
The share of works by women artists in HNW collectors' collections decreased in 2022 and 2023, reverting to levels seen in 2020.
Collectors spending over $10 million annually had a higher share of female artists' works in their collections.

Collecting Behaviours and Channels:

In-person buying saw a resurgence, with dealers being the most widely used channel for purchasing art in 2023.
HNW collectors were selective about event attendance, with a reduction in the number of art-related events attended in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Experts' Insights:

Economic and political uncertainty influenced the art market in 2023, leading to more risk-averse approaches and less impulse buying among collectors. Self-focused motivations remained the biggest drivers for buying art.
HNW collector confidence remained strong in 2023, with a notable shift towards more careful spending and a resurgence of in-person buying.
Consumer spending growth pivoted from goods towards services in 2023, with art collectors becoming more discerning and intentional in their choices, focusing on meaningful connections and quality over quantity

Overall Trends:

The art market, including participation by women collectors and representation of women artists, is influenced by broader economic and geopolitical conditions.
There is a continued interest and investment in the art market by women, albeit with varying degrees of spending relative to their male counterparts.
The trend reflects a nuanced and evolving landscape for women artists and collectors within the global art market.

Why invest in art?

Art provides a way to diversify investment portfolios beyond traditional stocks, bonds, real estate and even crypto.

Unlike financial markets, the art market often does not correlate directly with stock markets, which can protect personal wealth against market volatility.

Overtime, art can significantly increase in value and it can often hedge against inflation (which erodes wealth). So as the value of money decreases, the value of art can remain stable or increase.

For many investors, art goes beyond financial gain. Many HNW individuals are passionate about art and derive personal satisfaction and prestige from owning valuable pieces.

Investing in art is often a part of an individual’s legacy and forms a significant part of estate planning for HNW individuals.

And in some cases, investing in art can offer tax benefits. For example, donating art to a museum may provide a tax deduction, or certain tax advantages may apply when selling an artwork at a profit.

Investing in art need not only be for HNW individuals

Early art investors who may have less funds to invest, can access more afforable art via for example, Battersea Affordable Art Fair or check out Frieze London for inspiration.

And, via companies such as Masterworks, it is now possible to buy shares in the artwork selected without needing to choose and purchase the ‘physical art’.

This not only reduces risk for inexperienced investors who has less knowledge of the space, but makes this asset class more accessible to early investors.

Financial news

Global bond market rally continues with 10 year US yields now at 4.44%, German 10y at 2.56% and Japan 10y at 0.79%.
In nominal dollar terms China’s GDP is shrinking – making the economy a tough sell to foreign investors.
US 10 year drops 18bps to 4.46% after inflation data which should eliminate any expectation that the Fed will raise rates again in Dec or thereafter.
US inflation data for October undershoot consensus. Headline dropped to +3.2% from 3.7% in Sep vs 3.3% expected, Core CPI dropped to 4.0% from 4.1% vs 4.1% expected. Dollar and Yields plunge.
EU cuts Eurozone 2023 GDP forecast to 0.6%, down from a September forecast of 0.8%. Sees 1.2% growth in 2024, a downward revision from 1.3%, and 1.6% in 2025.
Euro jumped 1.7% following cooler-than-expected US inflation data.
Barbie ‘contributed over £80m to the UK economy’ says Warner Bros. Hollywood studio reported figure to a parliamentary committee investigation into how to support the British film industry.
Value Trap Small Caps? Normally, the share of unprofitable firms rises during recessions. But even before the economy has entered a recession, the share of comps in the Russell 2000 w/no earnings is at 40%, Appolo's Slok has calculated.

Crypto: bitcoin, ethereum, DeFi & NFTs

Right now, Bitcoin (BTC) is trading for $36,648 a 24-hour jump of 2%. Over seven days, it has essentially been flat. It started the week strong, regularly flirting with the 18-month high of $37,000 per coin it touched last week, but it has since struggled to sit comfortably above that figure.
Elsewhere, altcoin star Solana (SOL) saw its long-running rally slow down. The Ethereum-competitor had hit another yearly high Monday but cooled its run. It is now priced in at $58.31 per coin, and is up 5.6% over the past 24 hours
If Solana goes ahead, the creditors of FTX will be fully compensated. The Delaware Bankruptcy Court approved the sale of the failed exchange’s assets, which included 55.75m SOL, in September 2023.
And Avalanche (AVAX) surged after J.P. Morgan said it had used the blockchain to tokenize portfolios. AVAX, the 12th biggest digital asset by market cap, is priced at $22.12, having shot up by more than 46% over the week—making it this week's winner.
Worldcoin price drops 6% after Sam Altman unseated as OpenAI CEO. The token fell over 12% in the last 24 hours, according to The Block’s Price Page.
Fidelity files for spot Ethereum ETF, says approval would be 'major win' for US investors.
South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), the world's third-largest pension fund by assets, has made a significant foray into the cryptocurrency space by purchasing $19.9m worth of Coinbase shares.