agip--sucks.
BTW the last post was not mine, but was funny.
"Investment" in art depends on how much money and effort you are willing to put into it, and what role you wish to play.
I don't advise it unless you are connected to good sources, good knowledge, and the gallery/appraisal community. I am, and I make use of them.
Again I can't tell you my niche because it is narrow enough that another entrant could affect things, sorry. The artists of interest are dead, there is limited supply, and the catalogs raisonnees are well-developed.
I will say that contemporary art by living artists has recently surged, to unbelievable heights. I'm talking of thousands of % appreciation over a very small time period, for people who flip this stuff.
For sure, there is a lot of pump-and-dump that is going on, but in art that is the norm--the stock of an artist is built by those who represent the artist, those who own the art, and those who are intermediaries in transactions. Their reputation must be built by the right people--that is the pump. Disparaging though the term pump-and-dump is, we are seeing art flipped multiple times within a single week at this point, indicating no intent to own, or "invest" for the long- or medium-term.
Once again, I will say that there is a lot of money out there among a certain class of people, looking for a place to be parked. They have taken to believing that art is a good place, but the prices of old masters, and "real art" has gone out-of-reach for many. That, plus the fact that galleries are cool and the gallery scene is hip, has people putting thousands, and tens of thousands, into the purchase of contemporary art by living artists. Some of it gets to auction relatively quickly, where bidders can drive the prices sky-high.
You really have to know what you are doing, otherwise it is nothing but gambling.
Again, sorry about your gold position. I looked into it and was on the verge of getting some, but decided not to. I still might though, in the future.