NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yieldstreet, a leading multi-asset alternative investment platform created to reduce friction and provide previously unattainable access to alternatives for millions of people, today announced expansion of its art platform into equity ownership investments of physical art, complementing the wide range of debt-backed opportunities offered.
Ownership of fine art has long been in the exclusive domain of the ultra-wealthy, requiring vast amounts of capital, deep art market industry knowledge and access. With today’s announcement, Yieldstreet plans to launch a series of diversified art funds over the coming months that will enable retail investors the opportunity to own a fractionalized interest in a portfolio of prominent artworks.
The Art Equity Fund launches today and will provide investors an opportunity to invest in a diversified pool of blue-chip and mid-career Post War & Contemporary artworks, including pieces by George Condo, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf. Future fund offerings are expected to partner with prominent experts across the art market and include a range of focuses, periods, genres and artists at various stages of their careers. Investment decisions will utilize third-party appraisals and expertise, supplemented with analysis from a proprietary database managed by Athena Art Finance, a subsidiary of Yieldstreet.
“Investing in valuable artwork has been a mere dream for most retail investors, who love and recognize both its intrinsic and extrinsic value,” said Yieldstreet Co-Founder and President Michael Weisz. “This is a big moment for them and for Yieldstreet. This platform throws the doors wide open to the world of high-end art ownership while also marking Yieldstreet’s foray into art equity investments.”
Passion investing, specifically in non-physical art and NFTs, has seen a dramatic rise over the past few years as digital marketplaces enable millions of retail investors the opportunity to invest in assets they love. However, retail investment in physical art has not experienced the same growth due to the significant barriers inherent to the art market. True to Yieldstreet’s mission, the platform will help reduce such barriers and help democratize access to fine art.
In addition to providing access to high-end art investing, Yieldstreet also plans to create unique ways for investors to experience the artworks owned in each fund. Such experiential events may include private galleries displaying the fund’s artworks, along with insight into the artworks’ significance from art experts.
To date, Yieldstreet x Athena have funded and offered over $250M worth of debt investments backed by fine art on the Yieldstreet platform, backed by artworks created by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francis Bacon, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Bradford and KAWS, among others.
About Yieldstreet:
Yieldstreet is reimagining the way wealth is created by providing access to alternative investments previously reserved only for institutions and the ultra-wealthy. Yieldstreet’s mission is to help millions of people generate $3 billion of income outside the traditional public markets by 2025. Its award-winning technology platform provides access to investment products across a range of asset classes such as Real Estate, Commercial, Consumer, Art, Marine, Legal Finance and Aviation. Since its founding in 2015, Yieldstreet has funded over $2.4 billion of investments and is committed to making financial products more inclusive by creating a modern investment portfolio. The company, headquartered in New York City with offices in Brazil, Greece and Malta, is backed by leading venture capital firms. Join the movement at www.yieldstreet.com.
