Classic tangible assets outstrip inflation, but which one will perform best?

Classic tangible assets outstrip inflation, but which one will perform best? With the UK chancellor chasing capital gains on profits and making property so unappealing to landlords, capital is seeking safe-haven assets.??Art has done very well, whiskey has been great, wrist watches have delivered respectably, classic cars have done exceptionally well and so have classic motorcycles. Tangible assets have historically performed surprisingly well in both the good times and the bad. (Property is excluded from this because it really does occupy a market all of its own which usually collapses quite spectacularly when it does go).?

Investing in tangible assets is a passion which grows on you the more you doit. If you’re retired and looking for something to do, it’s a great way to invest. However, thinking you can learn the markets and do it all on your own is a sure-fire way of occupying your time in an unhealthy way and losing your capital very quickly. That’s why the people who work in each industry have committed their lives to understanding their own market and all the individual assets that make their market up. You cannot become an expert with a lifetime of knowledge in just a few years, but you can get a good feel for the market. The tangible asset market is littered with fakes and poor examples that dazzle to deceive. The real art to investing in these markets is finding out who to work with. People who are just interested in moving product won’t worry about authenticity. People who can reel off a handful of rules and tick those boxes for you with their stock, braying about what a good investment you’re about to make are probably more in it for themselves than providing a service.??

Art has done exceptionally well and seems to ride the rough times with the smooth with grace. In the good times the returns are usually exceptional, but in the bad times they are respectable. To be successful in the art market you must invest in what you like and either have exceptional knowledge of the market or a trustworthy dealer. Trying to learn on the job and do everything yourself is usually a process that vacillates between disastrous and break even. Working with the right people from the start and ensuring that they earn your trust is a wise way forward. Just because other investors rate a professional does not mean that they have your best interests at heart. A clear performer in this market is the Maddox Gallery in London. They certainly understand their market, are very well connected and take very good care of their customers.

Wrist watches have performed very well, especially at the top of the market. Rolex have decided to really grasp their brand to prevent watch traders from profiteering from their product. Some investors have even made profits from Swatch watches and I’m always amazed to see the 1970s Seiko watches at very affordable prices still. This is a market which is riddled and plagued with fakes and has its own logic. Finding someone trustworthy to work with in this market will be very challenging, but not at all impossible. Time pieces are a well loved tangible asset, they’re easy to move around the world, very desirable and attract no CGT or tax on profits in the UK.

Whiskey has been doing exceptionally well over the last ten years and continues to do so. It is not a good idea to enter this market without being represented by someone with a proven track record. This is a specialist market and knowledge will not gleaned by reading a few books and having a few chats with people who tell you it’s a great investment. Whiskey does attract CGT on profits.?

Classic cars have been a very sound investment and the market is very well developed and truly global. The left and right hand drive issue can cause some restrictions on values in different markets. Finding trustworthy people is not easy, and again, trust must be earned. We work in the classic car market and know who is trustworthy and who is not, our network is very small compared to our blacklist. Beware of shiny, pretty cars with smiling people telling you what a great investment it is. The truth is that no one has X-Ray vision and each car must be investigated fully and proved to be genuine. Auctions are very dangerous places to buy these machines, as making big decisions in a high pressure, adrenalin fuelled environment with no due diligence is always a recipe for disaster. Most of these cars need seriously severe scrutiny and due diligence to know that you’re buying an investment grade example. Investment grade does not mean shiny, it does not mean that the nice man said it’s a good car, it means a proper appraisal from a trustworthy source. These cars need putting up on a ramp, compression tests, endoscopes down the barrels of the motor and usually need much further investigation. Most cars in the market are not investment grade and need thorough investigation, as mistakes are very expensive to rectify if they can be rectified, so buyer beware. If you get the right car, you’ll have great fun and enjoy totally tax free profits in the UK. China and India will soon be entering this market and they will transform prices. Now is a great time to get into these great collectibles.

Classic motorcycles are our speciality and run parallel with the cars, but the market is fifteen years behind the car market. That means that there are enormous profits coming in this market, just from a demographic drive as this article points out?https://www.themotorcyclebroker.co.uk/what-is-driving-the-prices-in-japanese-and-italian-classic-motorcycles-from-the-1970s-and-80s-heres-some-hard-facts/?.??The motorcycles have no left or right hand drive issues to worry about, they’re cost effective to move around and they take up very little room. This is a relatively new area in the collectibles markets and started with people collecting old British and American made motorcycles. The market has developed a lot and the demographics are really driving it now, as the above article in the link points out. Like the cars, very few of these machines are investment grade but the ones that are deliver incredible tax free profits in the UK. There’s a lot of buyers moving into the motorcycles from the car market as they see the great value these machines are offering. Classic motorcycles can be bought at the moment, for about 3-5% of the value of the equivalent car. It’s vital to buy an investment grade example and not be dazzled by shiny, pretty machines on showroom floors and at auction. There’s a lot of institutional funds chasing the value these machines offer. Only about 8% of the examples of each model are investment grade examples and many of the remaining 92% can never be transformed into an investment grade example. We specialise in sourcing investment grade examples of the correct classic motorcycles to deliver you tax free profits.?