Collecting lego: the profits to be had in plastic bricks

Lego can be a good investment – if you buy the right sets. Chris Carter reports

Lego Titanic model
The Lego Titanic has had a happier story since launch
(Image credit: © Lego)

Christmas seems a long time ago already. That Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets playset that cost £130 is probably gathering dust by now in the corner of an untidy bedroom. If so, you might in time be wishing that it had remained unspoilt in its packaging as Lego sets can make good investments. That’s the conclusion of a paper from Russia’s Higher School of Economics, published in this month’s Research in International Business and Finance journal. The authors, Victoria Dobrynskaya and Julia Kishilova, compared the prices of 2,322 unopened sets, dating from 1987 to 2015, on the secondary market. They found that the sets yielded an average annual return of 8%, adjusted for inflation – more than from large stocks, bonds and gold.

The authors of the study also found that medium-sized sets tended to appreciate more slowly than small sets, due to the latter’s tendency to contain unique parts and figures, and than big sets, which tend to be “produced in small quantities and are more attractive to adults”. And what’s attractive for adults is attractive for Lego.

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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.