Forget stocks – handbags have outperformed them all

A surprising collectable has been trouncing other asset classes. Chris Carter reports

© Sotheby's

No longer mere fashion accessories and Margaret Thatcher’s weapon of choice, handbags are this year’s darlings of the collecting world. So says the oft-quoted 2020 Wealth Report from Knight Frank. The value of handbags rose by 13% last year, the most of any collectable asset class (see below for the others). That was also slightly better than the 12% the FTSE 100 managed for 2019 – remember those days?

Of course, expensive handbags have been around for at least as long as there have been chihuahuas to put in them. But as a collectable, they’re relatively new to the scene. And, until very recently, there hasn’t existed any index to track prices. So Art Market Research (AMR), the company that supplies Knight Frank with data for its Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), made one.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.