Investing in art, honestly.

Investment grade is not a synonym for expensive. It describes a work whose quality, condition and documented history would stand up to scrutiny from a specialist, an insurer and — eventually — an auction house.

In practice that means a strong example from a recognised period in the artist's output, unbroken provenance, a clean condition report, and a market with real comparable sales rather than a handful of private transactions.

The purchase price is rarely the full cost. Budget for insurance, specialist transport and crating, conservation and framing, storage if the work is not on display, and the commission or fee on eventual sale.

Import duties and export licences apply to cross-border acquisitions. We set these out in writing before you commit, so the number you approve is the number you pay.

Art is illiquid. A considered sale takes months, not days, and forcing a work to market quickly is the surest way to sell it badly.

Collectors who do well tend to hold across a full market cycle and sell into strength — an artist's retrospective, a renewed institutional interest, a moment when the right buyer is looking.

Authenticity, condition, restitution checks and comparable sales are the four questions that decide whether a work is worth its asking price. Where it is warranted, we commission an independent specialist valuation rather than relying on our own view.

We read the back of a canvas as closely as the front. Restoration, relining and old repairs all affect value and are not always volunteered.

Access, mostly. Much of the best material never reaches a public sale — it moves between estates, family collections and dealer stock. An adviser with that network sees works earlier and negotiates from better information.

The second place is restraint. Talking a collector out of the wrong work is worth more over a decade than finding them three good ones.