Binding Books Tips - Investing in Books

In 2006 the UK government are changing the pension rules to allow us to put our personal possessions (chattels) into our pensions! (6 April 2006)

You’ll be able to hold personal chattels such as cars, antiques, a property and rare books in a self-invested pension (SIPP) You’ll have an annual allowance of £215,000 to rise to £255,000 by 2010/11 and a lifetime allowance of £1.5mn to rise to £1.8m by 010/11.

Books have always been a great investment - Ex Wall Street Financier - Thomas J Healey analysed how literary classics would perform against other types of investment such as stocks and bonds.

Healey took the increase in value of 244 titles in two timespans over an eleven year and a nine year period in the last twenty years. Over the eleven year period from 1991 - 2002 there was an average compound growth rate for the value of the books on the lists was 12%. The annualised return for the earlier list - 1982 - 1991 was 12.8% and 12.3% for the entire 20 year period!

Comparatively speaking - US ten year Treasury notes yield 7.8% suggesting that rare books are better shielded from business cycles than other forms of investment and therefore, may offer more attractive returns with lower risk.

There seems to be a fluid marketplace for rare books - a marketplace in which hidden value and underachievement can suddenly take off. Moreover, books are solid, dependable, attractive and heavily traded assets that can only increase in rarity and value.

Past performance is not necessarily a predictor of future results - so get the advice of an expert before making any rare book investment.

'Money Matters' by Thomas J Healey, Rare Book Review, June 2005 pp 46/47