Collectors' News: September 2010 issue

In the past, accurate, independent data has been difficult to come by. For the last decade investors and collectors have relied heavily on monthly pricing from the Liv-ex 100 Index and other indices produced by Liv-ex, the global online trading platform.

‘Our technology facilitates dynamic, daily updates and will allow users to monitor the market at their convenience,’ says Gary Boom, managing director of Bordeaux Index.

‘It’s the most transparent, accurate and simple way of gauging the market performance of Bordeaux.’ Users will also be able to view individual price graphs for all wines traded, with data going back to 1 January 2008.

In response, Liv-ex has launched its own price-weighted daily index, ‘The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50’ with data going back to February 2010. It will track the daily movements of the 10 most recent, physical vintages of all the Bordeaux first growths (1998 to 2007) which are traded among 300 international merchants.

Says Liv-ex’s James Miles: ‘We believe that makes this the best and most accurate and independent daily snapshot of where the market is on any given date.’

It remains to be seen which index becomes the benchmark. But the impact of this kind of competition and more transparent and accurate data can only be good news for those looking to make more informed purchasing decisions.