Bloomberg profiles a new Brazilian art fund:

Brazil Golden Art: BGA Private Equity Investment Fund is part of the Rio de Janeiro- and Sao Paulo-based firm Plural Capital, which is putting money into Latin America’s largest economy.

“While most of the modern and contemporary art markets around the world were hit hard by the 2008-2009 economic crisis, the Brazilian auction market recorded a 38 percent increase from 2008 to 2009,” the London-based research company ArtTactic said in its latest report about the country. […]

The BGA fund is worth 40 million reais and will buy contemporary works, mainly from Brazil. Initial external investment for the new fund was 10 million reais short of the target capitalization, Bruno Miguel, an analyst at Plural Capital, said in an interview.

“The fund will spend three years investing, then two years uninvesting,” Miguel said. “We may sell the whole collection to a museum or gallery. We’ll see what the best option is at the time.” […]

“Despite the overall strong performance in the Brazilian contemporary art market, the sector remains narrow, with only four or five artists driving the market and the prices,” ArtTactic said. “We believe the recent auction performance by Varejao and Milhazes will increase confidence among consignors and buyers, and we are likely to see a broader range of Brazilian artists coming to the auction market.”

Brazil Art Price Surge Lures Billionaires to $24.4 Million Fund (Bloomberg)