[Rhotchkiss]

It’s not for me, but I don’t have an issue with fractional ownership and/or investing in a fund that invests in cards/collectibles. Bottom line is that sports stuff has value. If it has value, you can invest in it- if value goes up, you make money; if value goes down, you lose money. Once something has value and can be an investment, people will find all sorts of ways to make money off it, both directly and as a secondary player to the investment (like auction house, offerer of shares, TPGs, etc).

From what I understand, Gretzky and the Kings owner partnered to buy the Gretzky Wagner. A partnership to own a card is necessarily a fractional share relationship. Suppose I go out and find 10 guys all willing to put in $100k to buy a $1mm item- whether we do it through a business entity (like an LLC) or on a handshake, it’s a fractional share relationship. Collectible simply takes that concept to an extreme.

Again, it is not for me and I do not, and likely will not, own a fractional share of a card or other collectible. But I certainly understand it, do not begrudge it, and see how (at least people thought) it could work.

As far as the OP’s question is concerned, I personally have witnessed cards exist as a viable hobby (and yes Investment) for 40 years, and from what I understand, the hobby (and the profit motives it sometimes brought) existed long before I came along. I expect this trend will continue for many years to come. In fact, I think the past few years brought a large influx of new collectors (or used to be collectors back) to the hobby, at least some of whom will stick. I don’t think the hobby is going anywhere. That said, I certainly expect people to take some money off the table, which means some may sell their entire collection. I have sold my entire collection twice, but always return like a moth to a flame. If stuff you own is worth a lot of money and you could use that money to do things better/more important than owning cardboard, sell the cards! I suspect most sellers are in this boat. Profit taking, however, is hardly the death knell of the hobby.