April 10, 201115 yr I suggest the name 'Payment Incoming from Multiple Partners' Fund, or PIMP Fund for short! Love it! Once this takes off (as the skimpy pants always do), maybe it can be floated on one of the stock markets. The PIMP Fund. Sounds good! But which sector will it fall into, I wonder? Financials? Property? Retail? Sports?? Consumer Goods? Services? Utilities? I like Long Bonds best - the longer the better
April 10, 201115 yr This thread could do with being split into "Investment Topics -An Integrated Thread" & "Investment Topics -Taking the ****". Some of us are still interested in the original topic, as Voldemar intended it.
April 10, 201115 yr Some of us are still interested in the original topic, as Voldemar intended it. As indeed am I. But a bit of light-hearted fun surely helps leaven the seriousness of the topic.
June 21, 201115 yr For those who are serious investors and want as near as a sure-fire thing, here it is - but it'll cost ya! The latest auction for a Stradivarius violin raised an astounding US$15.9 million. That's four times the previous auction record for such an instrument. Yet, when last sold in 1971, that instrument cost just £84,000! There were though, two things in its favour. One is it has an exceptional provenance. Many Strads are named after one of their owners - there's even a Jack Benny Strad! This one is called the Lady Blunt after it was owned by the granddaughter of Lord Byron, Lady Anne Blunt. Secondly, it was put up for auction by one of the many corporations which now own such instruments, the Nippon Foundation, to raise funds for the earthquake relief. Seriously though, for those with really serious money (which rules me well out!), a consortium purchasing a Strad today is guaranteed to make major profits. There remain only about 500 Strad violins in existence (the other 100 or so were violas and cellos). Each decade some are stolen and not recovered, or are broken beyond reasonable repair. Plus the number of concert violinists, especially in China and other parts of Asia, is on the rise. Demand already far outstrips supply, and the imbalance will be greatly exacerbated over time. Businesses and syndicates are now as much in the market for these instruments as musicians. They are then hired out to famous musicians until they are sold. As an example of the prices for instruments sold privately through dealers and the rate of return - A pre-1700 Stradivarius sold for £9,750 in 1966, £280,000 in 1985, and £618,000 in 1988, showing an average annual rate of return of 19.77%. A golden period Stradivarius sold for $55,000 in 1955, and $6,000,000 in 2001, showing a return of 10.74%. Another golden period Stradivarius sold for £14,250 in 1967, £541,500 in 1988 and £2,163,164 in 1999, showing a return of £16.99%. A Stradivari violin bought for $270,000 in the late 1970’s sold for $5m in 2000. http://www.per-ovesen.com/show/english/violins_as_investments/article_3.aspx http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13852872 Perhaps voldemar and MIchael might consider diversifying their porfolios
June 21, 201115 yr For those who are serious investors and want as near as a sure-fire thing, here it is - but it'll cost ya! If we pooled our money together, we might be able to afford to buy a couple of the strings....
June 21, 201115 yr If we pooled our money together, we might be able to afford to buy a couple of the strings.... A thought, but not a good investment as strings deteriorate and eventually break. So, no resale value, alas. A good antique bow, though, will be a fraction of the price of a violin and appreciate in value. $20K to $30 might be enough!!
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