Art
How Art Assets Can Be Transferred Among Families - White Paper
A new report examines the process of transferring art collections - now growing at a rapid pace worldwide - among family members.
Fine Art
Wealth Management, the specialist firm founded by Randall
Willette – a regular commentator in these pages – has launched a
new report on how art assets can be transferred among family
members, coming at a time when private collections are said to be
booming.
The report, called Structuring for Transfer of Art Wealth to
Family Members, is produced in collaboration with Bellerive
Stenham Trust.
“Today, the private collections of ultra-high net worth families
can rival those of major art institutions and private museums are
being created at an astounding rate,” a summary issued by the
report’s authors said.
“Wealthy families are moving toward an increased focus on using
their collections to realise what they define as a richer life in
order to achieve a greater sense of fulfilment for themselves and
for their communities. Equally important, art is increasingly
becoming the investment of choice for families who are searching
for alternative assets that offer risk-adjusted returns
uncorrelated with others assets in their portfolio,” they
continued.
The white paper sets out considerations for art owners, as well
as some of the more appropriate structure types and it also
examines philanthropic considerations including private museums,
and the role of the family – including the importance of
knowledge being passed down to the next generation.
For example, the report notes that family trusts and foundations
trusts and foundations can be important in how to legally holding
the art collection independently of the family members, whilst
incorporating the requirements and views of the donor.
The study also considers the growth of private museums worldwide,
noting that a lack of public exhibition space has caused them to
rise.
As well as Willette, who founded Fine Art Wealth Management in
2003, the co-author is Ltd, his co-author is Heath Martorella, is
the head of family office at Bellerive Stenham Trust Limited in
Guernsey.
