Corporate acquisition's significant contribution to growth within the Contemporary art market....

Microsoft owns 4000+ works of art, according to CNN June 2007, their curator and New York gallery owner Michael Klein spend $1.2 million on acquisitions for the company last year alone. Other leading corporate collectors include UBS and the Progressive Corporation. Market leader, Deutsche Bank own 50,000+ works of art, valued at approximately £75 million. This can be seen as strong evidence of arts investment value to these corporations and to those wishing to invest in art. These serious collectors pour considerable investment into research of emerging artists and expert curatorship, so can become a useful guide to the new discerning investor on possible direction to take.  

Although these corporations insist their investments are not specifically for financial gain, even in light of corporate tax incentives, the Mei/ Moses Indices of art's performance shows  20^th century Impressionists and American Paintings to have consistently outperformed the S&P500, since 1950. A unique potential here of ever-increasing demand with a corresponding limited supply. Contemporary art is thought to have been even more lucrative when purchased wisely. These indices also show how art  has a low correlation with the US stock market, thus having the ability to reduce risk, therefore having good potential for those investors wishing to diversify.