- The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 and FTSE have both risen around 3% since January 2019 but with very different levels of volatility.
- The Fine Wine 50 benefits from being a global index.
- The new ‘Buy again’ opportunities grid highlights LIVE offers of wines you’ve previously traded.
From January 2019 to the present, the Liv-ex Fine Wine 50, consisting of the most recent 10 physical vintages of the First Growths, has performed on a par with the UK’s leading index, the FTSE 100. The difference, however, is the path they took to get there.
Volatility
Volatility is a measure of the price movement of an investment/asset. In the chart above, you can see that although both indices are up around 3% from their rebasing, the volatility involved with the indices, as shown by the bars on the bottom of the graph, are vastly different.
Global movement
The Fine Wine 50 has the benefit of being a global index. Priced in Sterling, it is nonetheless affected by the activity of wine merchants around the world. On the other hand, given its focus on just the Bordeaux First Growths and that the size and scope of the FTSE100 is so much bigger, volatility in the Fine Wine 50 is inherently lessened.
Both indices saw spikes in volatility in late 2019 and early 2020 when various market headwinds were compounded by the emerging Covid-19 pandemic, which hit home in Europe in March 2020. While fine wine drifted over seven months, however, the FTSE100 saw a much steeper drop of 30% within a few weeks.
The road less bumpy
Both indices have since recovered from that low point last spring, but the Fine Wine 50’s gains have been gradual, while the FTSE100 has been much more volatile throughout its recovery.
Fine wine offers stability. The First Growths offer liquidity. And the path for wine is paved with a lot less bumps overall.
If you have an interest in First Growths, you can now find opportunities quickly on the exchange via the ‘Blue Chip’ offers page.
We have also added a NEW ‘Buy again’ tab in the opportunities grid for those looking to make a repeat purchase. The grid shows competitive offers on wines that you’ve traded before in three, six, or 12x75cl in the last 365 days (SIB or special contracts without condition issues).
LIVE offers – NEW ‘Buy again’ tab
