Wine, a Fine Investment
Text: Lyle Michael Photographs: Prashant Jadhav
www.uppercrustindia.com
A fruitful sector indeed, wine ‘matures’ profitably. Investing in wine is the right step today, for which you have Amphora Portfolio Management to ably guide you through.
Fine wine is a finite resource. As the basic fundamental of supply v/s demand comes into play, the urgency of investing wisely in wine is heightened today, more so with the rising number of wealthy buyers coming out of China. UK-based Amphora Portfolio Management (APM) realised this is where it’s at – where the culture of wine drinking is highly developed in Hong Kong and the supply is equally balanced with demand. So with a little office in Kuangjo, one Chinese girl and two British expats, they made their entry into the most populated country in 2012 and are now in the second one, in a joint venture with All Things Nice by sommelier Nikhil Agarwal.
As we sit down with the founder and CEO of Amphora, David Jackson and the Investment Manager, Philip Staveley to get savvy on wine investment, we grow amazed by the world of knowledge that is flowing on the subject and the potential that can be tapped into – brought forth meticulously by the duo. To begin with, APM’s origin emerges as interesting as the subject itself, where Philip – a senior stockbroker in global and mergers markets – was introduced to wine investment and ended up a client of David – who worked in equities before turning to fine wine in 1999. APM was initially Albany Portfolio Management – the investment arm of Albany Vintners – who today, serve as direct competitors to Amphora. After a management buyout by David and Philip, Amphora was born in Jan 2009. David’s ‘financial better half’ begins, “Wine investment is about understanding the risks involved. When I started off, I explained to David that as an investor, I simply needed to sell off to make profits. So, with my experience in Asian markets and my Mandarin language skills, too, I drew up a business model with David focused on making optimal profit for investors in South East Asia. We functioned more like stockbrokers than wine advisors, learning from those who were not getting it right, and I took position as Director of APM in 2012.”
To clearly define Amphora’s role is to state its two primary functions: One, building portfolios of selected wine of investment grade for private investors, tailored to any budget. Two, serving as traders – not merchants, mind, as there are no retail markups – across countries for fine wine and promoting the necessity of wine as an investment sector. The smart, young wine expert of a sprightly disposition, David begins, “At Amphora, we first don the stockbroker’s hat, to work on an algorithm of our own to acquire an equation that is relative. Following this quantitative assessment comes the qualitative task, undertaken by our wine expert James Sowden.” Thus the creation and management of an investor’s portfolio is a result of pragmatic and fact-based research and analysis, and experience by WSET trained professionals – a requisite to be on the team. Continues David, “Wine investment is very different from any other sector. A lower investment amount does not translate to lower risks here for fine wine is an appreciative commodity; the higher the price, the more valuable. Amphora is simply aimed at educating wine drinkers that wine is not restricted to just the drinking element but is a financial asset of which investment is the key to ensuring a balanced supply to meet increasing demand.”
Now wine drinkers in India can invest wisely, too, starting from approximately
Rs 3 lakh for 12 bottles of exquisite produce from California, France and Italy – and can go up to millions of dollars – thanks to the joint venture with All Things Nice, the Bombay-based consultancy on wines and spirits. States Director Nikhil, “The exposure to wine is increasing here. Now is the right time to invest and that’s what APM is asking you to do. The concept has been in play with the wealthy Indian community in UK for years now and has helped bridge the gap between the pure investor and the collector of wine.”
So Amphora’s plan for India is to stick to a portfolio similar to the one created for the UK market and to offer a separate drinking and investment selection. Storage of the wines is carried out in London in a bonded government warehouse, FYI. All in all, it will be a gradual process, for India is not UK, where the capital gains assessment is high and the investment in fine wine is tax free! With that, the two men – Philip, who has been coming to India since the ‘80s and loves Bombay – and David, the young father of four, on his first trip here – sit back and look forward to many more visits to our land for some delicious dosa and more authentic Indian food, with a glass of fine wine, of course. Cheers to wine investment then, for it is nothing if not simple and effective!