Art as An Asset Class: How to Invest in Art and Artfully Achieve Your Investment Objectives

Wednesday, January 10, 2024, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Sunken Living Room at Spring Place

6 St. John’s Lane, New York, NY 10013

Contact: info@cbsacny.org

Curious about Art as an Asset Class?   

Join us and a panel of experts on January 10 for an in-person discussion of the myriad ways to invest in art.

Previously the exclusive domain of billionaires and UHNWIs, there are many new ways to invest in art.  You’ll learn what to look for as an art investor and how to artfully achieve your investment objectives!

Mingle with the speakers and your colleagues in the Sunken Living Room. Drinks are available for purchase at Spring Place, 6 St. John’s Lane, (off Varick), NYC.

Panelists

• Wendy Battleson, Private Client Advisor, SVP,  Bank of America Private Bank
• Rebecca Fine (CC ’89; CLS ’93) , Managing Director, Athena Art Finance & Yield-street
• Amanda Lo Iacono, Global Managing Director, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Phillips
• Lewis Long, Owner and Founder, Long Gallery Harlem
• Fotini Xydas, Co-head of Art Advisory & Finance, Citi Private Bank
• (Moderator) Fanyu Lin  (CBS ’16), Artist & Architect, Chair, Art & International Committee of CBS Alumni Club of NY

DATE/TIME:   Wednesday, January 10 ; 6-8 pm  Doors open 5:30; Program 6-7:15; Networking until 8:00pm; Drinks available

LOCATION:   Spring Place’s Sunken Living Room, 6 St. John’s Lane (off Varick), NYC

Bios of the Panelists:

Wendy Battleson is an advisor with Bank of America Private Bank  with a focus on wealth management, primarily for female clients and their families.  Previously, she was the Principal of Art Strategy Partners, providing art related financial services to hedge funds, family offices and other high net worth individuals and entities.  Wendy founded the company after nearly a decade in various financial executive positions at Christie’s auction house in New York, London, and Hong Kong. While at Christie’s, Wendy was responsible for developing the strategies and deal structures of $1 billion+ in annual global art transactions, in addition to founding its art finance business. Prior to her time at Christie’s, Wendy served as a member of the executive team at Cendant Corporation (a former Fortune 100 company) in its corporate spin-off and subsequent IPO on the NY Stock Exchange.  Earlier in her career, she was the Managing Director of RE/MAX and in Zurich, Switzerland where she worked and lived for six years.  She has a degree in Political Science and Economics from James Madison University and a law degree from George Mason University School of Law.

Rebecca Fine is a leader in the fused worlds of art, finance and law. She manages the global specialty art lender, Athena Art Finance, which has originated $750mm+ in art loans and ranks as a top 5 art lender in the U.S., and the only non-bank lender. She and her all-women art finance team also manage all Art Investments for Yieldstreet, a private market alternative investments platform. Since joining Yieldstreet in 2019, Rebecca’s team has launched 8 art debt offerings – backed by the art loans Athena originates – and 5 diversified art equity funds. Prior to founding Athena in 2015, Rebecca was a law partner at a boutique art law firm, focusing on the art-specific risks associated with lending against art as an asset. There, she litigated disputes involving title, authenticity, attribution and restitution claims for world-renowned art galleries, museums, foundations, and private collectors. After graduating from Columbia College and Columbia Law School, Rebecca was a commercial, cross-border litigator at the law firms of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Wilmer Hale. Hailing from 3 generations of women artists and gallerists, Rebecca has a deep passion for art and an understanding of a multitude of perspectives on the art market.

Amanda Lo Iacono, Global Managing Director, 20th Century & Contemporary Art, Phillips. With over a decade of experience in the art market, Amanda joined Phillips in 2016 where she played a pivotal role in spearheading the 20th Century & Contemporary Department’s growth in the United States. During her tenure, she’s also held the roles of Business Manager, and Head of the Evening Sale Department.  Under her tenure, Phillips’ New York Evening Sales achieved numerous records and industry-leading sell-through rates in excess of 90% by lot and value. Amanda’s has brought several important works by blue-chip artists to market including Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barbara Hepworth, Jean Dubuffet, Carmen Herrera, Damien Hirst, and Amy Sherald. Amanda joined Phillips from Christie’s, where she held specialist positions on the Post-War & Contemporary Evening and Day sales during a period of record-breaking sales and spearheaded the expansion of Online Sales in Europe. Prior to embarking on her career in the art world, Amanda was an Associate at J.P. Morgan Asset Management where she managed a portfolio of 20 funds in the Global Multi-Asset Group with assets under management of over $3.5 billion.  Amanda gained a BA with Honours in History of Art from Oxford University and an MA with Distinction in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute, where she focused on Modern and Postmodern art with specialization in Surrealism.

Lewis Long is a gallerist, art dealer, curator, collector and arts leader.  He is the owner and founder of the Long Gallery Harlem , a contemporary art gallery through which he has created an exhibition and monetization platform for under-represented emerging artists and collectors which are often overlooked by more established galleries. Lewis is also the General Partner for ACP Art Management, an art investment management company.  Previously, he was the associate director for the Columbia University Wallach Art Gallery, where he worked on the groundbreaking Posing Modernity exhibition which traveled from Columbia to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Lewis spent nearly 25 years in corporate strategy and marketing leadership roles. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance, cum laude, from Howard University, an MBA from the Harvard Business School and, in 2018, he completed the Stanford University Impact Program for Arts Leaders. In 2021, he completed the Comprehensive Appraisal Studies Program of the Appraisal Association of America.

Fotini Xydas, Co-head of Art Advisory & Finance, Citi Private Bank

Fotini Xydas is a Co-head of Citi Private Bank Art Advisory & Finance and an Art Advisor. She co-leads a team of art specialists who help clients build, manage and finance museum-quality art collections. Fotini specializes in 19th to mid-20th century American and European art. Since joining Citi in 2003, Fotini has worked with some of the top collectors in the world, helping them build museum-quality art collections by identifying opportunities and providing comprehensive, objective advice on acquisitions and sales. Prior to her current advisory role on the team, she held collections management and research positions. Fotini began her career at Sotheby’s and Hollis Taggart Galleries in New York, where she assisted in curating several exhibitions on American modernism, including Inheriting Cubism. Fotini graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Art History. She went on to complete graduate work in American and European 19th and 20th Century art at Columbia University, where she earned a master’s degree, and at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where she earned an MPhil in Art History. Fotini has written extensively about the art market since 2009 for Citi’s State of the Art Market, Art Focus, Global Perspectives & Solutions and Wealth Advisory series, and also been quoted by Bloomberg, Artnetand Financial Times publications.

Fanyu Lin is an artist and entrepreneur, working at the intersection of art, technology, architecture and design. An active voice in global dialogues, Lin serves on the Bloomberg New Economy Cities Council to collaborate on a methodical, citizen-centric approach to urbanization, and on the World Economic Forum’s Council on the Connected World, to shape governance and innovation of the internet of things and related technologies in the global public interest. She is also the Chair of the Art & International Committee for the CBS Alumni Club of NY. Lin graduated from Central Academy of Fine Arts, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and Columbia Business School.

CBSACNY would like to thank Club member and Chair of the Art & International Committee, Fanyu Lin, for organizing this session and several other in-person panel discussions at exciting locations around the city that are planned for 2024. Stay tuned….