Elderly expats invest in art

Art

According to recent reports older expats are investing in art to make more of their pension incomes.

The reason that fine art is seen as the go-to investment for older expats is because it is seen as a safe investment, something that will keep its value.

Similar to gold, investors feel safe with art in times of economic uncertainty. One such investor explained his decisions to The Telegraph: “It is important to pick an artist you are confident in. I’ve always been interested in art but I’ve never invested in it before. It’s a safe investment and one that you can enjoy, not like shares which just sit in a drawer said Brit James Wood.

Mr Wood buys his art from a dealer who is based near his expat home in Spain, Stephen Howes.

Mr Howes has been dealing in art for just under 20 years and he says that he has noticed a surge in activity amongst elderly investors in recent times: “I have about 15 to 20 people buying art each week and they are all retired. People are investing anything between 1,000 and 80,000 euros either to buy and then sell or to keep it as a tax-free inheritance,” he said.

Another investor, Dubai based Brit David McGuinness, also spoke of the positives of art: “I don’t think for one minute that I would ever lose money from art,” said the divorcee, who divides his time between France and Dubai. "It is one of the best investments at the moment – some of the pieces I own have quadrupled in value since I bought them. For me, collecting art is two-fold. It is an investment to make money but it is also something to look at, it gives me a lot of pleasure and is something to pass on to my family in the future,” he said.