Art Market

If you are interested in learning more about investing in art do some research on the web to see who's selling what art and at what price.  There is a formal marketplace and key site to visit is ArtPrice.com:

http://web.artprice.com/start.aspx?l=en

You can get your artwork appraised for around $50 and even bid on artwork for sale.  They also have an art market confidence index to show how interest is either waxing or waning in the marketplace.

Expanding the Topics

I'm expanding the topics that I'll cover in this blog to include other investments.  To do well financially you have to diversify your portfolio and include other things than stocks.  Real estate is probably one of the best investments you can make simply because you can rent a property even when it's value may be low.  The key however is finding a property that is in a good location and is "rentable."

Another investment to consider is owning copyrights or patents.  These investments can gain significant value overtime and the other good thing about them is that just like a property you get residual income in the form of royalties.

One last investment to consider is artwork.  If you can get art from an up and coming artist you will have a good investment that will increase in value overtime as that artist's career gains traction.  The key is finding an artist who is getting to be well-known.  Check to see where and when the artist has done exhibitions and if there is any press out there about them.  Have they won awards and have they done any high-profile installations? Also you can see who they studied with or what collectives or associations they're members of.  This will add value to their art over time.

I Am Not a Hype Investor

I am not a hype investor.  I’ve seen it many times over the years.  People get hyped about a stock because of a media buzz or worse…a social media buzz, and get taken advantage of after they put all this money in the stock.  Whether it’s a penny stock or one on the major exchanges, there are folks who are going to inflate the value of a company in order to jack up the stock price and then cash out off of everyone else’s expense who have put money in believing the hype.  I’ve been there, I caught the hype bug over a penny stock and it did go up for a day or so off of the buzz, then it tanked and I lost some money.  One of my friends lost more than I did.  Thankfully I didn’t jump in with any large amounts.  

Take your time and study the value of a company over time.  If there is no information about the company on the web, then I wouldn’t invest in it.  Let the big spenders and cowboys have the wild west.  I’m investing to build wealth for myself and my family.  I look for bargains when prices of stocks go down and get in on the upswing.  I also focus on dividends for monthly income and overtime the value of my investments has grown.  Have a long term plan not a short term get rich quick scheme.  This will help you continue to add value to your investment portfolio.