Democratization and financialization of art. These are the two founding concepts behind the initiative launched by ARTEX Global Markets, the first regulated multilateral trading facility dedicated to the listing and trading of shares of companies whose only asset is an iconic artwork. Investors thus have the opportunity to purchase masterpieces that exceed 20 million euros, the minimum threshold considered for works to be listed on the market.

“Our aim is to provide easy access to a traditionally exclusive fine art market, through a transparent and regulated platform like ARTEX GM, open to all investors. We are talking about artworks from the world’s greatest masters, spanning a period from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Masterpieces that are purchased and subsequently listed are always on public display, in museums and exhibitions around the world” comments Yassir Benjelloun-Touimi, co-founder and CEO of ARTEX Global Markets.

The first artwork to hit the market was Francis Bacon’s iconic triptych “Three Studies for Portrait of George Dyer”, listed in 2024 for 55 million dollars and today trading at a stock market value of over 58 million dollars. Such masterpiece will be on display at the Nationalmusée um Fëschmaart in Luxembourg for the next two years, to fulfil a social purpose, admired by thousands of visitors every day.

ARTEX GM is preparing for its next listing, this time dedicated to a 1972 portrait of Mao made by Andy Warhol and estimated 39.5 million euros value.

"Since 2024 we have been working together with the founders of ARTEX GM to develop this new market and today we act as exclusive placement agent for Italy. This enables us to offer to institutional and professional investors such interesting asset class, providing the benefits of portfolio diversification as a result of the low correlation between art and traditional financial instruments" comments Vincenzo Abbagnano, co-head of Global Markets at EQUITA.

As asset class, art is gaining interest among investors, thanks to its ability to preserve value, its low correlation with traditional investments and the long-term horizon. As evidence, global blue-chip indexes are recording good returns, with Artprice100 index delivering an average annual return above 8% over the 2000-2024 period and the Sotheby’s Mei Moses performing +8% per annum since 1950.

The Mao currently being listed is part of Andy Warhol's inaugural series known as the "first Maos". The artwork – a unique copy, autographed by the author on the back – will be followed in the coming months by other listings of iconic works made by great masters like Kandinsky and Basquiat.