The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Capital enters art advisory services

New Delhi, Aug. 10 Bajaj Capital, an investment advisory company and distributor of financial products, has diversified into art advisory services. For the purpose, the company has set up an art house — Bajaj Capital Art House.

“Of late, our clients have started showing interest in other asset classes like art. So we decided to extend our advisory services to art. What we are going to offer is neither a portfolio management scheme nor an art fund. It would be services like advice on buying and selection of art works,” Mr Rajiv Deep Bajaj, Vice-Chairman & Managing Director of Bajaj Capital, told Business Line.

Mr Bajaj highlighted that art had limited downside as compared with pure equities. For Bajaj Capital insiders, art advisory services are dubbed as “seventh wonder” as it is the seventh area that the company is entering into. The company is already providing advisory services in direct equity, mutual funds, real estate, life insurance, general insurance and fixed income.

Market size

The size of the art market is currently estimated at about Rs 1,500 crore and it is recording an annual growth of 30-35 per cent. The auction size was $5 million in 2003 and has grown to $50 million in 2008. In India, the levy of capital gains tax legitimises art as an asset class, Ms Sushma K. Bahl, an art consultant, pointed out.

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