Health of Asset Class - Over/Under 1955 Topps Koufax PSA 9

[oldjudge]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Bob, I 100% agree with everything you said. Many on this board like things how they are and bemoan innovation. I don’t blame them, I hate change too! But where there is money involved, there is innovation, and we are seeing that in the hobby/asset class (why I struggled initially with the terminology). Those who don’t recognize the innovation may miss opportunities, or worse, get left behind.

I think fractional shares makes sense for a very few things that are super rare and super expensive - t206 Wagner, BN Ruth, PSA/SGC 9+ 1952 Topps Mantle, etc. That said, buying into a card mutual fund of diversified cards makes sense and is not very different from a stock or bond mutual fund. Nicolo makes some good points that one would have to consider, but if you can get comfortable with the sponsor and the fee structure, I card mutual fund makes. Frankly, I have dabbled with the idea of starting one and seeding it with my collection at FMV (as determined by appraisal).

Ryan-I disagree. Equity or debt mutual funds make sense because there is price transparency on the components. Arbs will keep the value in an appropriate range. Not so on a collectibles fund. If you can’t set value based on components then you are left solely with determining a market by best bid/offer. If an event happens the volatility could go through the roof. Are you going to trust the fund provider to tell you what the shares are worth?