The traditional view of passion investments usually involves collections of fine and contemporary art, wine, watches, jewellery, as well as classic and super cars.
But investors have continued to look further afield for valuable collectible assets.
Arbuthnot Latham said that “investments of passion are very often simply a hobby rather than part of a wider financial planning strategy”.
So, what exactly have people been interested in?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
NFTs are a unit of data stored on a digital ledger that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable.
According to the market tracker, 134,191 sales took place in March 2021, with collectors spending more than $200m (£141m, €163m) trading artwork, gifs and memes.
Unsurprisingly, NFTs have caught the eye of many companies ready to push boundaries and unlock potential, from cryptocurrency for entertainment and sports.
Toys
An unopened and forgotten copy of Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System, a Christmas gift from 1986, was sold in an auction for $660,000 last month. The gift was left unopened for 35 years.
Pokémon trading cards grew hugely in popularity during the covid-19 pandemic. A rare, first edition ‘Charizard’ card sold for $360,000. Forbes reported that for some less unique cards, the selling rate can vary between $400 and $2,000.
Also in 2019, a Star Wars ‘Bib Fortuna’ toy prototype sold for £36,000 alongside other characters, all of whom were said to be “relatively unknown”.
Also, mint condition sports cards sold on US marketplace StockX soared in average price in 2020, from $280 to $775 per card.
In April 2021, a one of 100-of-its-kind card of American footballer Tom Brady sold for $1.3m.
Books
The first comic book ever to feature Superman sold on eBay for over $3.25m. The original was on sale for $0.10 in 1938.
Harry Potter books are also proving to be a unique investment, but there is a catch. Only 500 copies of the first edition were originally printed, and it was not long until a spelling error was spotted in the book.
In 2020, one of these copies, published in 1997, bypassed the original valuation of £30,000 and sold for £60,000.
Jewellery and shoes
Coloured diamonds have been deemed the safest bet for return on investment.
The largest-ever auctioned piece, a 14.8 carat purple-pink diamond, sold for £20.1m in 2020 in Switzerland.
Trainers too have earned their place as an investment category. In England, the Kayne West x Louis Vuitton collection of trainers are estimated as the most valuable at £22,763.
In the US, a pair of trainers in the style of the famous Nike dunks sold in March for the equivalent of £24,000.
Nick Gornall, Arbuthnot Latham’s head of business development, said: “In a world that has seen historically low levels of interest rate post 2008, and with the globalisation of investors, particularly from China accessing via technology, there is renewed interest and more transparent market platforms for such passion investments.
“It is not a surprise to see many more emerging trends – what price will be paid in 30 years’ time for the prototype electric car or digital footprint for today’s Instagram influencer I wonder. We live in interesting times.”
