Services

Art Business Investment and Strategy

At a time when Corporations and Museums are increasingly competing for distinction and prominence amongst Ultra High Net Worth Individuals, Arvest provides customized business strategies for both new and well-established brands. In 2016, Artvest created and launched one of the most successful new fairs in a generation, TEFAF New York, creating an entirely new global dimension for the long-stablished TEFAF Maastricht brand.

In addition to its own equity positions, Artvest provides strategic advice and due diligence on art business acquisitions, start-ups, restructurings, cost reductions, new business lines and market re-alignments. The Firm’s experience ranges from re-branding major auction houses and launching art fairs to the creation of an art fund vehicle and a plan for an international storage facility.

Cultural and Corporate Partnerships

Artvest creates enduring and customized branding partnerships between like-minded corporations and cultural and philanthropic institutions. Previous partner relationships have included Bank of America, US Trust and Merrill Lynch, Illy, Ruinart, The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Christie’s Education and ProjectArt.

Market Research and Expert Witness

At the core of all its business endeavors is Artvest’s belief in the power of research and analysis to predict future business and cultural trends in the art market. From following demographic patterns and changing collector behavior; to understanding the development of a new breed of art investors; to evaluating the future of millennial collecting and analyzing the evolving business needs of the Dealer community, Artvest remains on the cutting edge of “what’s next in the art world?” In several instances, investing its own financial capital, and that of its investment partners, behind its findings.

Artvest has provided Expert Witness advice in pioneering cases in US Federal and State Court ranging from tax and inheritance matters, bankruptcy proceedings and fraud.

Art Collection Disposition

Artvest advises clients in selling all or segments of art collections. We work with individuals, estates and families to determine the most appropriate sales channel (e.g. private sale versus public auction), market timing, appropriate selling venue, (auction house location, art fair, or special exhibition), and marketing strategy, all the while negotiating the most optimal selling terms. Artvest assists in the understanding of auction valuations and historic unsold rates to estimate realistic financial outcomes and avoid last-minute reductions in auction reserve pricing.

Art Financing and Investment

Artvest structures both opportunistic and buy-and-hold private equity style art investment fund vehicles, including sourcing expertise, managing conflicts of interest, acquisition/disposition protocols and distribution waterfalls. From small partnerships to corporate art funds within institutions, Artvest has experience in working with expert legal partners to create structures that are matched to the unique and illiquid landscape of the art industry.

Through its international network of lending partners, Artvest finds the best in class solutions for acquisition financing and borrowings against established art collections.