Investing in stamps

According to an article, "The History of Stamp Collecting" by Stanley Gibbons (which was posted on the Cayman Net News website), "Many of the world’s wealthiest families have recognized the benefits of storing part of their wealth in a rare stamp portfolio. The DuPont’s, Rothschild’s and lately Warren Buffet and Bill Gross, the American bond guru and inflation expert, have all had significant holdings of rare stamps. Bill Gross is estimated to have invested in excess of £50m in the last five years."

The article goes on to say, "Possibly the most compelling reason for investing in rare stamps is as an inflation hedge. During the last period of high inflation in the 1970s rare stamp prices rose over 600% in a decade. Unlike fixed income investments the price of rare stamps rises in line with general economic growth and inflation as investors look for tangible assets in times of economic uncertainty."

"Add to this an existing database of 30,000,000 stamp collectors worldwide underpinning your investment, plus an estimated 18,000,000 in the emerging China market and you’ll start to see the benefits of rare stamp investment," Gibbons reports.

Shown above is a graph comparing stamps and autographs to stocks,property and pensions as investments.

To read the entire article, click here.

For more on investing in stamps, click here.