Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Why Passion Investment can be good investments in a cramping Market


Most of us loved to collect coins, stamps and books for reading when we were kids; the same passion when incorporated with money is called passion investment.  Here we are not talking about small investments and hence is applicable to individual with high disposable income. There are different types of investment opportunities in like rare antiques, jewellery, music, sports it’s a never ending list.

Now these investments do not follow the same rule or the trends of the traditional market. To be very precise passion investment shows reasonable amount a negative correlation to tradition investments like mutual funds, bonds, commodities and equities. The major reason why many HNI’s are looking into other investment options as the traditional assets are all effected together in times of economics slow down or crisis. Passion investments generally don’t follow the same trends of the traditional market variations and market slow down, and thus acts as a profitable investment even in times of economic crisis. One more reason that attracts HNI’s to these investments is the pride or the satisfaction of ownership.

But in India the investors are keener on investing in tangible assets and thus limit their options of investing. There is a difference in opinion on if luxury products like yachts, luxury cars, watch, etc can be called as passion investment, there is no clarity on this point bus it totally depends on the investors and the financial advisor. There are a few draw backs to passion investment too, as no investment can be full proof.

The few drawbacks to it are that these investments have low and at times no liquidity this is because, these assets are not understood by all and the buyers are very limited and paying an agent to find a potential buyer is a cost in itself. Secondly in case of a painting or and artifacts they are assets of high physical risk as they have to be preserved and protected. Now the investor has to be cautious and should understand the asset and also research the credibility of the dealers before investing or buying. These are a few things which an investor should take into account while investing in paintings, ancient artifacts, coins, etc. The other risks involved are authenticity of the asset and if the asset is owned or stolen.  These risks can be reduced or eliminated by asking for the proof of ownership and authentication certificate for the proof.

The crux of the whole story is that the reason investors are now looking at passion investment as prominent and important part of their portfolio is because it gives them the feeling of ownership. Moreover the returns on these investments are not applicable to the traditional market norms and the returns are comparatively higher.


Altamount Capital Management is the first of its kind Multi Family Office in India. Altamount offers Multi-Family Office services, comparable to international standards, combined with Private Investment Opportunities, offered to a network of ultra wealthy families. A team of outstanding professionals at Altamount recognized the need for a focused wealth management advisory firm for the burgeoning group of super-rich families or the Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in India. While the focus of these families is to build and grow their businesses, a dedicated effort and approach is needed to preserve and grow their wealth locally. Altamount Capital Management was conceived to fill this gap. 

No comments:

Post a Comment