Many investors choose to explore the fine art market due to its perceived lower volatility when compared to other investment opportunities such as stocks.
Learn more about art as an alternative investment here.
We mention this because after a pretty solid bull run of nine years, volatility has crept back into the stock market - most notably in February 2018, when the popular indices entered a 'shallow correction' period.
Any period of volatility can prove a frightening time for investors. Meanwhile, the fine art market is traditionally seen as a lower-risk area for investors to place and potentially accumulate their wealth if they do their research, work with the right people and invest in the right pieces.
For many, though, the art market can seem like something of a closed shop. Maecenas is looking to alter that perception and make access to the art market easier than ever with blockchain technology.
Better access to the fine art market with Maecenas
"In my experience, when the market goes up and down, up and down, that's good for art," says Christophe Van de Weghe, speaking recently to Bloomberg.
The New York dealer adds: "Over the last 30 years, volatility has been very good for us dealers, because that's when people want to buy a hard asset." He also highlights that since the stock market peaked at the start of the year, he's been selling more pieces to investors and that the art market has been 'very bullish'.
It's a perception that many in both the art and financial worlds explicitly agree on, and it's hard to argue when looking at the figures for the second quarter of 2018. According to MutualArt, the market has seen a 17% year-on-year increase for Q2, while the Postwar & Contemporary category has risen an astonishing 80% since the same period last year, amassing sales of $1.3 billion USD.
No wonder the fine art market can be an attractive proposition to investors. For those new to the market, though, it can be tricky to navigate. Where should your money go, what categories are set to see growth, how do you know if a piece is genuine and - most important of all - do you even have enough capital to enter the market?
Democratising the art market with the blockchain
All of those questions and others are answered with Maecenas' decentralised art gallery, powered by blockchain technology to open what is, essentially, a closed opportunity for millions of art lovers and investors the world over.
One of the biggest barriers investors face is that the market has effectively remained unchanged for centuries. The Maecenas platform works to open up that market, remove intermediaries, provide more accurate information and build a strong open network of trust between artists, collectors and investors.
Most importantly, Maecenas gives investors the chance to own fractionalised digital interests in some of the world's most popular and famous works of art, allowing anyone and everyone to invest and potentially increase their capital in some of the planet's greatest masterpieces.
Find out more in our Art Investment Explainer Document.
Topics: Art Investment