This new investor tribe are looking for excitement, interest and a means of expressing their personalities through their financial choices. They are expanding sectors such as sneaker stocks, NFTs and rare wines. In 2020, Sotheby’s sold an autographed 1985 pair of basketball player Michael Jordan’s game-worn Air Jordan 1s for a record-breaking $560k. Fine wine has increased in value by 127% on average over the last ten years and nearly 30,000 collectors invested in a piece of digital art for $91.8m.
Identity Investors see themselves as setting cultural agendas as they curate their assets which in turn influence others. Young HNWI are experts in their chosen investment fields and having built their wealth in cool urban environments inevitably become tastemakers.
The Alternative Wealth Report was commissioned by the global leader in fine wine investment, Cult Wine Investment. Two years on from the start of the pandemic, the award-winning company celebrates a record-breaking performance, doubling its assets under management to $320m as Vin-vestments outperformed Gold and the FTSE 100 in 2021.
Chris Sanderson, co-founder, The Future Laboratory said: “This report highlights how – even during a time of instability and economic uncertainty – a buoyantly resilient HNW investor is emerging – one bucking the trend in terms of seeking out alternative asset opportunities, favoring emerging business sectors and deploying the rise of new digital platforms to their best advantage. Unorthodox, bold, and highly entrepreneurial, this new investor mindset is setting the agenda for the decade ahead.”
Cult Wine Investment co-founder and CEO Tom Gearing said: “The pandemic has really accelerated the digital transformation of wine as a product, as a category and now as a safe bet asset. In parallel the investor’s desire for assets has evolved, imminent financial reward is no longer a dominant motivator, rather it is personal passions driving diversification within asset classes. We’re seeing emerging investors come to us through their love of a region or grape, but also with an expectation to experience it as they have other asset classes.”
Three dominant alternative assets
Vin-vestments: A stable and resilient investment. Technology is democratizing fine wine enabling individuals to champion regions and look beyond the dominant established sources in France and Italy. Cult Wine Investment has seen a 23% YoY growth in U.S. investors, with $221k being the average investment by New York clients.
Sneaker Stocks: Known as ‘the hype economy’ young wealthy people are driving a sneaker and streetwear resale sector set to be worth $30 billion …….