Paintings As An Alternative Investment: Research on Turkish Market

Although some investigations have been realized, there is very little scientific understanding of the causes of demands in the field of art. It can be said that despite the lack of a clear definition of art and the requirement for an "art world" for any work to be endorsed as a work of art, art has been consistently attracting attention as an investment tool and has shown the potential to outshine other, more traditional types of financial assets. Fine art can also be a fine investment. Most art markets are based on high-risk investments; they are opaque and unregulated; show extreme product heterogeneity and high transaction costs; dependent on changing public taste and short-term trends in the art world. Illiquidity, market segmentation, information asymmetries, almost monopolistic price setting and the lack of dividends are other problems. While most of the former studies on art investment focus on developed countries, interest in researching the situation in developing countries has begun to emerge as art markets continue to grow in many parts of the world, Turkey is not exempt from this trend.