With every passing month, there is growing evidence that banks and financial institutions worldwide are considering art and collectibles as valuable asset classes.

I recently read a Reuters report, where it was revealed that more US brokerages are offering loans using art as collateral in a bid to capture their own portion of the ultra high net worth financial market.

For example, UBS Wealth Management America has just released details to its brokers of a plan to offer loans totalling as much as $150m, which can be collateralised by anything from a Picasso, a rare instrument or fine silverware.

"Prior to this, UBS WMA had no way of solving for certain ultra-high-net-worth client requests where art was part of the collateral equation," commented Meg Stinson, spokeswoman for UBS. "We have significant investor appetite."

All this stems from the fact that traditionally safe areas, such as bonds and gilt-edged securities, are becoming increasingly volatile. Collectibles and art are starting to look very attractive, continually seeing the kind of percentage increases and low volatility rates that put other markets to shame.

As the Barclays' Wealth Insights report states: "Collectibles now increasingly share the characteristics of broader financial markets."

So why haven't banks got on board the collectibles market sooner?

At the 2012 LAPADA Conference, senior business development manager at Lloyds TSB, Richie Coulson, told the crowds that none of the high street banks have the resources to commit to understanding art and collectibles.

But it won't be long before they start turning toward the potential of this untapped market, and that's where we come in.

We are uniquely placed within the collectibles industry, and our 250 years of combined experience can help you develop a portfolio of investment-grade collectible assets, which will help secure these attractive loans.

Contrary to Coulson's statement, our range of indices, such as the recently published PFC40 Autograph Index, make collectibles easy to understand. We also offer a unique 120% investment guarantee on our top stock items, allowing you to test the water before taking the plunge.

Click here to see what else we can do for you. Alternatively, give us a call or drop us a line and we'll talk you through the appropriate steps.

+44 (0)117 933 9500 or info@paulfrasercollectibles.com

Until next week,