High-net-worth collectors with money to invest remain bullish on the art market, according to the latest UBS Investor Watch Pulse Art report.
UBS surveyed 404 U.S. investors with $1 million in investable assets who had spent $10,000 or more on art or antiques in the past two years.
The New York-based financial services firm found that 68% of respondents were optimistic about the art market as a short-term investment, compared with 66% who felt the same over the short term about the global stock market. An even greater majority of respondents (72%) were optimistic about the art market over the long term, compared with the global stock market (70%).
A new generation of high-net-worth collectors is demanding more from their investment than just an artwork they can hang on the wall or install in their living room, the report said.
UBS found that 59% of respondents—86% of them millennials, 52% Gen X, and just 18% boomers—said they were considering sustainable options in managing their art collections, such as recyclable packing and alternative delivery.
A majority of those respondents (86%) said they were willing to pay more for sustainable options, with 25% willing to pay as much as 25% more.
More than a fifth of collectors (22%) said they preferred to buy artwork from dealers and galleries; 16% from private collectors; 16% at auctions; 13% from studios; and 10% online.
For a majority of these investors, art collecting is not a short-term proposition. More than half (55%) said they planned to pass on their art collection posthumously, while 45% said they would pass on their collection while still living.
Most said they planned to leave their collection to family or friends, but worried that their heirs would not care for their artwork with the same diligence they had. As a result, 73% said they had shown their heirs how to care for their art collection.
A majority (51%) fretted that their heirs would not be able to get a fair selling price for their collection.