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Invest in iconic art by world-famous artists

Side view of a beautiful young woman studying and watching the abstract paintings and colorful canvases during a visit to the art gallery
Beach Creatives / Shutterstock

Masterworks is an investment platform designed specifically for investing in contemporary artwork.

Why? Because, like a fine wine, a piece of fine art gets better — and more valuable — with time.

And maybe because, between 1995 and 2020, contemporary art has outperformed the S&P 500 by 174% — that’s nearly three times the returns — according to the Citi Global Art Market chart.

Art collectors have been cashing in on this reality for years, purchasing works of art for more than hanging over the mantle. To the savvy buyer, art is an investment, a way to grow your money akin to stocks and bonds.

Except that art investing used to require a ton of work. You had to research the hottest artists, understand the demand in the art market, sit at auctions waving that paddle around and hoping it doesn’t come to blows with an eager buyer across the aisle.

Oh, and you had to have a lot of money to walk away with a masterpiece.

Masterworks founder and CEO Scott Lynn, a recognized art collector and tech entrepreneur, wanted to simplify the process and make investing in contemporary artwork as easy as flipping through movies on Netflix.

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A bigger market than real estate

Side view portrait of tattooed creative woman hanging paintings on wall while planning art gallery exhibition, copy space
SeventyFour / Shutterstock

Not only has contemporary art outperformed stocks nearly threefold, but it’s also experienced way less frequent loss than the stock market.

From 1995 to 2020, contemporary art has seen losses over three-year investment horizons only 4% of the time.

That makes this market a more stable investment than stocks. And yet, it’s been completely overlooked! Contemporary art makes up a bigger market than even real estate, but everyday investors have traditionally been shut out of this world by gatekeepers and complex processes.

Masterworks gives you the opportunity to dip your toes in these lucrative investments and diversify your portfolio with some assets that aren’t subject to stock market volatility.

How it (master)works

Masterworks is one of the first art investment platforms, and it’s available by invite only. (Don’t worry; we got you an invitation!) It lets you bypass the hard parts of art collecting, so you can just enjoy the rewards.

As one of the top buyers in the art market, Masterworks’ research team understands all the trends, returns and players in the market so you don’t have to.

It’s purchased more than $250 million in paintings to date, and it makes SEC-qualified shares available to everyday investors through its platform.

Here’s how it works:

  1. The Masterworks research team watches the art markets to discover which types of works are going up in value.
  2. Then it sends out an acquisition team to snatch up a piece and offers shares to member investors.
  3. You select shares to buy (with no minimum investment), and Masterworks uses its proprietary data to help you tailor your portfolio based on your financial goals.
  4. You can earn money by selling your shares to other Masterworks users, or hold onto them and earn your share of the proceeds when Masterworks sells the piece.

You can buy and sell shares as you please with no commissions or trading fees. You’ll just pay a 1.5% annual management fee on investments within your account (i.e., no out-of-pocket fees).

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Art collecting without the work

Masterworks’ revolutionary platform and crack research team take all the work out of art investing for you.

Get ahead of the curve and invest in this exciting asset class by signing up today.

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Dana Sitar, CEPF® Freelance Contributor

Dana Sitar has been writing and editing since 2011, covering personal finance, careers and digital media. She’s written about work and money for The New York Times, Forbes, CNBC, The Motley Fool, a column for Inc. and more.

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