Liquid Assets

publication date: Oct 25, 2008

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author/source: Michael J. Bryan

By Michael J. Bryan

At a time when investors are cautiously transferring “volatile” funds into fixed, there are a growing number of wine enthusiasts who have realized they can have their cake and eat it too!

The Elevation Wine Fund, launched this past August, will pay investors their dividends in either wine or cash. Predecessors like the England-based Wine Investment Fund, have averaged a growth of 14.5 percent even through this year, and investors even get to pick the wines that make up their portfolios.

Investing in art and wine is a way for people to stay close to the things that interest them. If you could afford a bottle of 60-year old Macallan Scotch in 1996 for $26,200, it would be worth over $66,000 today.

One tool available to individual investors and wine fund investors as well is the Liv-Ex 100, and index created in 2001 allowing investors to track the prices of the most sought after 100 vintages.

The world’s top vineyards are all limited in size and production, so prices on these allocated wines are almost sure to go up over time. And in a down market, now is better than ever to buy in. Besides, unlike traditional stocks, if the price falls, you can always open up your portfolio and drink it!