Alternative Investing Report - September 4, 2024

_{*as of 9/3}

August saw an especially high amount of record-breaking collectibles sales, including a $24 million Babe Ruth jersey, a $2 million “Shoeless” Joe Jackson baseball bat and a $1.3 million Boba Fett action figure. Jerseys from Jackie Robinson ($5.5 million) and Hank Aaron ($2.1 million) each set records for those athletes. There were two sports cards that topped $1 million, compared to three the entire rest of the year so far.

➨ TAKEAWAY: While the overall collectibles market hasn’t recovered to its pandemic-era highs, the success of these high-value items shows that the asset class has been accepted by high net-worth individuals. One-of-a-kind items have generally outperformed the rest of the market, as scarcity tends to drive value.

Investment firm Fidelity cut its valuation on X Holdings, better known as Twitter, by a further 4%, implying that the value of its shares are down 72% since Elon Musk bought the company in 2022. Musk himself is estimated to have lost around $24 billion in value, as the social network’s revenue has plummeted and usage has fallen by nearly 20%.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Since Musk bought Twitter, it has been one controversy after another, and advertisers have fled the platform, to which Musk responded with an unlikely-to-succeed lawsuit. The discord has bled into his other companies, with Tesla’s image and stock price hurting, and longtime Tesla investor Ross Gerber saying, “Elon’s done a tremendous amount of wealth destruction since he’s purchased Twitter.” That said, those bet against him haven’t fared well so don’t be surprised if fortunes turn.

🎨 Prints & Multiples: While paintings from well-known artists such as Picasso, Warhol and Haring can be prohibitively expensive for most people, prints and multiples are more affordable and accessible. This guide is a good primer for investors looking to get an art collection started.

🏡 Blackstone buys warehouses: The alternative asset manager bought an 80% stake in a $1.2 billion European warehouse portfolio as it increases exposure to industrial real estate.

🚀 Carta sells secondary marketplace: The software company that caters to startups was criticized for using its proprietary data to boost its secondary marketplace, so it decided to sell the business to the stock-trading startup Public.

🪙 Scammers hit Trump project: The World Liberty Financial platform was targeted by scammers, who lured nearly 70,000 people into a Telegram channel offering fake “giveaways” that would ultimately compromise their funds. Anytime a new project gains hype, it is bound to be a target, so be wary of any unknown freebies.

📺 GoT auction: Over 2,000 items from the epic TV series “Game of Thrones”, including Jon Snow’s sword, Jaime Lannister’s armor, and Daenerys Targaryen’s costumes, will go on the block in October at Heritage Auctions.

💵 Clearlake acquires MV Credit: The U.S.-based private equity company, which is also a co-owner of Chelsea FC, is expanding its private credit business with its purchase of a European firm.

While much of the crypto market has fallen in the past week, one bright spot has been Monero, a cryptocurrency known for its privacy features. The recent arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov caused the related token Toncoin to fall in value, and privacy-minded crypto users and investors may be looking for alternatives. Google searches for Monero spiked in the last week, and the added demand has led to an increase in price.