How to bet on art and other baubles

IMAGINE OWNING a Claude Monet, a 1977 Lotus Esprit, or a thoroughbred racehorse. Some retail investors have got their kicks during the pandemic taking a punt on call options (see article). But others prefer a slice of the high life. With a tap on an app—and often for less than the price of a bottle of champagne—they can fill their boots with expensive baubles.

This is fractional ownership, millennial-style. An investment idea more often associated with private jets and holiday homes has spread to art, vintage cars, sports memorabilia and other esoteric acquisitions, and has soared in popularity since covid-19 put other forms of betting on hold, its protagonists say.