Qualified investors' funds (FKI)

What are qualified investors' funds?

Qualified investors' funds, or FKI for short, are investment funds that place money in art, among other things. Instead of collecting paintings one by one, a person entrusts their money to the fund, which buys and manages works on their behalf. Such funds exist in the Czech Republic — Pro arte and Artefin, for example.

How does it work?

An investor puts in money and becomes a unit holder in the fund, which assembles and manages a collection of works. Here the entry threshold tends to be quite high: from one million crowns with Artefin, from 3.5 million crowns with Pro arte. The targeted return runs at roughly 4 to 10 per cent a year.

Why does it matter?

FKIs are an alternative for anyone who wants to enter the art market without the worry of selecting and managing individual works. It removes the need to become an expert oneself on the market, on provenance or on storage. Art thereby becomes more accessible to someone who has the means but not the time to build a collection of their own.

What should you watch out for?

The entry sums are high, so this route is not for everyone, and the returns quoted are a target, not a guaranteed yield. As with any investment, value can develop in different ways and money tends to be tied up for a longer period. Before deciding, it pays to read the fund's terms and to understand exactly what one is putting money into.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club