The Malta-domiciled Wine Source Fund, investing in a diversified portfolio of international fine wines and spirits, has recorded a net return of 32.2% since its inception four years ago (as at 31 August 2016).
The fund, also registered under the Alternative Investment Fund Manager’s directive of the European Union has outperformed wines and spirits’ industry benchmarks. The Liv-ex 100 and the Liv-ex 1000 indices have reported cumulative net returns of 7% and 15.6% respectively over the same period.
The Wine Source Fund’s portfolio currently comprises more than 1,000 different wines and spirits from the world’s top producers, primarily located in France, Italy, Spain and the US. Over half of the fund’s investments are made in Bordeaux and Burgundy wines while spirits account for almost 10% of the portfolio. Also the Wine Source Fund holds Macallan Lalique bottlings of aged whisky.
About 40% of the portfolio is made up of assets purchased directly from producers at preferential prices, hence differentiating from competitors according to the managers of the fund.
The value of the wines appreciates monthly at a fixed rate and the fund sells them at the cumulative index price to fine dining establishments around the world through its affiliate, Wine Source Group.
Philippe Kalmbach, CEO of wine services provider Wine Source Group and co-manager of the Wine Source Fund, said: “The fund’s performance highlights how we have a unique head start in identifying investment opportunities through our daily dealings with producers and international fine dining establishments. These first-hand market insights led us to fine tune our strategy by investing in select markets and benefiting from favorable price dynamics in an overall quite challenging environment.”