Find and Compare Investing in Collectibles

Investing in Collectibles

Investing in collectibles is not a new concept for many investors, although it is not as mainstream as other investment products like bonds, stocks, and even forex. Collectibles are one of the most exotic products under the alternative investment category.

Collectibles can be a rare manuscript, fine china, bottles of wine, vintage cars, and everything in between that people collect. Investing in these types of assets means that you hang on to them, believing that they will increase in value over time.

Like any other investment, this opportunity doesn’t come with a 100% guarantee. There is no way of saying which items will appreciate over time and which will not.

Still, several collectible items make a pretty smart investment. Naturally, its value will get based on its rarity and its present condition. If you are looking to investing in valuable collectibles, here’s an overview of the market.

Risks and Rewards of Investing in Metals, Gems, and Collectibles

Holding precious metals, gems, and collectibles is the single best way to maximize the benefits of investing in these assets for your portfolio. Unlike when you invest in stocks, real estate, and bonds, you will own the physical product and not only a paper claim on them.

However, like any other investment opportunity, investing in precious metals, gems, and collectibles has its upsides and downsides. See if the benefits of investing in these asset classes would be more useful to your portfolio or not.

Upsides of Investing in Metals, Gems, and Collectibles

• Precious metals and gems are tangible assets, something that you can hold in your hand. What’s even better is physical metals can’t get destroyed by water, fire, and even through time, although they may require occasional care like silver. Plus, these asset types don’t require a lot of maintenance, fertilizer, or feeding.
• Although many investors consider precious metals like gold only as a defensive asset, that is not often the case. Most of the time, these precious metals can even outperform and earn more profit than stocks. It also makes an excellent diversification asset for any investment portfolio.
• Investing in metals, gems, and collectibles is safe from hacking, one of the biggest downsides of investing in a digital form of wealth. Owning collectibles, metals, and gems can’t get erased as investing in them doesn't rely on electricity or the internet.
• If you want a lot of privacy and confidentiality for your investment, owning metals, gems, and collectibles can offer that.
• Investing in metals, gems, and some collectibles doesn’t require specialized knowledge. Expertise in spotting real diamonds is not necessary since you can purchase bullion without special training or skills.
• If you hold it, you own it. Unlike when you invest in stocks, investing in physical metals doesn’t let you worry if a company goes broke or bankrupt.

Downsides of Investing in Metals, Gems, and Collectibles

• Storage is one of the issues if you decide to invest in metals, gems, and collectibles. When investing in physical assets, there is always a possibility of theft, and you run the risk when storing it at home. Unlike stocks and bonds, you’d have to figure out how to store and secure your physical assets. Bullion storage or a safety deposit box in a bank comes with a fee if you want someone to store it for you to avoid loss or theft.
• Another downside of holding these assets is they can’t be immediately liquid. If you need the money, you can’t immediately sell your silver or gold, although there is a way around this. You can store your precious metals and gems in an online storage account, which allows you to trade them like bonds and stocks. However, they will not be physical assets anymore.
• Collectibles like gold and silver bullion have high capital gains tax compared to other investment assets like stocks.
• Investing in collectibles is risky and doesn't produce income or interest like investing in real estate or stocks. The only exception is jewelry, which is considered heirloom and doesn't have tax.

Investing in collectible items can be both rewarding and profitable. Still, it helps to understand the market basics to help you decide whether it’s a good place to invest your money in it.

What Is the Typical Return Range of Investing in Collectibles?

Over the decade, investors made excellent returns from collectibles, but not all of them. For instance, fine art remains a steamroller in the collectibles market. However, the market and the demand are not the same for old masters and modern greats. The same goes for rare drinks and bottles. Other over-hyped collectibles like vintage cars also experience retreating prices in the past decade, so did rare and vintage watches. Meanwhile, rare coin prices rose strongly in recent years.

Collectibles are a diverse group of investment assets, making them extremely unpredictable. In some cases, hyped-up items will soar for a year or two but becomes entirely worthless after, while throw-away items will have their prices skyrocket in the long run.

Overall, there is no specific return range for collectibles. Plus, price appreciation or depreciation will largely depend on what items you have and if there's a demand for them. However, for art held for five to ten years, the average return of investment is around 4%. Still, there are no direct comparisons to help you identify how much a collectible will be worth until you sell it.

Top 10 Reasons to Consider Investing in Collectibles

If you are second-guessing whether to invest in collectibles or not, here are some excellent reasons why you should.

• The collectible market is profitable, and there are achieved returns across a wide range of collectible sectors.
• Investing in collectible items has a strong historical performance, giving you an extra level of assurance as an investor.
• Collectibles are tangible assets, which means they are not subject to inflation conditions like your money saved in the bank.
• Collectibles are less volatile to market conditions compared to traditional financial investments like stocks.
• Many collectible items are still under “wasting assets,” which means you won’t have to pay capital gains tax for them.
• Collectibles in your portfolio give you personal control over all your investments.
• The growing rarity of some collectibles, like antiques, makes them ingenious and invaluable at present. It means their value will only appreciate over time.
• Investing in stocks and bonds is only a way to earn profit but investing in collectibles provides something more.
• If you are looking for long-term investment without worrying about market volatility, collectibles are an excellent option.
• Investing in collectible items gives you a wide range of options to diversify your investment portfolio as it is an extremely diverse asset group.

Adding physical assets to your investment portfolio is not a bad thing. It provides diversity and a level of security to your holdings. However, it’s still important to carefully weigh the upsides and downsides of investing in collectibles.