As waves of cash continue to leave conventional investments in the flight to safety, alternative asset classes such as fine wines, works of art, antiques, diamonds and even film financing have started to court likely backers.

Although investment stems largely from individual and high net worth investors, institutions are taking more interest. With the spectre of inflation looming, these assets are seen to have several benefits for investors - not only are they physical investments but they can diversify exposure away from the movements in traditional fixed income and equities.