The Impact of Unconventional Monetary Policies on Unique Alternative Investments: The Case of Fine Wine and Rare Coins

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate the impact of central banks’ unconventional monetary policies on sectors of unique and traditional alternative investments beyond the stock market. More specifically, we examine how quantitative easing (QE) programs, imposed by the FED and the ECB during the financial crisis, affected the fine wine market and rare coins in comparison with real estate, commodities and crude oil. The methodology used in this study includes multiple regression analysis. As dependent variables, the LVX 50 Index, the Rare Coin Values Index, the REIT Index, the CRB Commodity Index and the Crude Oil Futures Index, are used for each sector respectively. Our empirical analysis shows that the QE programs applied had different outcomes between our sample markets. Thus, investors should evaluate the signals associated with the announcements of prospective monetary policies in their attempt to achieve a sufficient portfolio diversification and to harvest superior returns at the same time.