ARTIST PENSION TRUST AND SIMON MURRAY & COMPANY PARTNER IN ASIA
SMC joins forces with APT to continue APT’s growth and development in the developed and emerging art markets in Asia
HONG KONG, 16 May 2013: Artist Pension Trust® (“APT”), the unique program offering artists long-term financial security as well as international exposure and Simon Murray & Company (“SMC”), the pan-Asian investment fund management firm, are announcing a partnership to accelerate APT’s expansion into Asia.
APT currently nurtures and supports the careers of artists from 75 countries, encompassing eight regional trusts around the world, over 1,500 artists and the largest collection of international contemporary art, standing at over 10,000 works of art curated by APT’s global team of over 85 renowned curators. APT has made significant inroads into the contemporary art markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Major contemporary artists such as prize winners Richard Wright (Turner Prize), Clifford Owens (William H. Johnson Prize) and Map Office (Sovereign Asian Art Prize) participate in APT trusts. Artworks are lent to major institutions such as the MoMA, Tate Modern, Hirshhorn Museum and Gagosian Gallery, as well as for major art fairs such as the Venice Biennale, ArtBasel, Documenta and Manifesta.
Clifford Owens Richard Wright
Map Office
The SMC group, founded by former Hutchison Whampoa Group Managing Director and Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific Executive Chairman, Simon Murray, specialises in investment across Asia and since its inception in 1997 has managed over US$1 billion. Mr. Murray, SMC Chairman, said: “The development of our relationship with APT has been very rewarding. APT has dedicated itself to engaging with Asian artists and we view their increased involvement as highly constructive to the professional futures of emerging and mid-career artists in the region. We strongly support the development of the arts in Asia.”
With its entrenched presence in Asia, including offices in Hong Kong, China and Japan, SMC has played a key role over the last year in the Asian expansion of APT – currently APT’s fastest growing region; a growth in line with reports by researchers such as Artform who stated in January 2013¹ that 49% of the 500 top contemporary artists today are Asian. The APT/SMC partnership anticipates working closely with both top and emerging Asian artists to diversify their personal risk, providing them with a hedge against short-lived trends as well as international exposure for their art.
Moti Shniberg, Chairman and co-founder of APT, said: “It is clear that Asia is home to the most rapidly expanding contemporary art scene in the world. Our partnership with SMC, which has built such a strong local presence, recognises this development and demonstrates our long-term commitment to serving artists in Asia while delivering the benefits of the APT model.”
Hamilton Tang, Group Chief Executive Officer of Simon Murray & Company, remarked: “Drawn from select promising artists from all corners of the globe, the APT Collection is one of the most vibrant and varied compilations of contemporary art today. We are confident that in partnership with SMC, Asian artists will continue to add value to the APT Collection and will in turn receive their entitlement to a secure financial future.”
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Notes to Editors
1. The art market in 2012 – The emergence of Asia as a decentralising and liberalising factor in the art market’ – Artform – January 2013
About Artist Pension Trust
With representative offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Leipzig, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mexico City and Amman, Artist Pension Trust ®(APT) provides long-term financial security and international exposure to select artists in 75 countries around the globe through their investment of artworks into the trust. With each artist depositing up to 20 artworks over a term of 20 years, APT is building the largest international collection of contemporary art in the world. APT’s diverse collection currently includes more than 10,000 artworks and is growing by 2,000 artworks each year.
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About Simon Murray & Company
Simon Murray & Company brings to Asia long-term financial commitment to artists along with Asian business expertise accumulated over four decades. The SMC Group was founded by Simon Murray in 1997. Mr Murray is the former Group Managing Director of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and Executive Chairman of Asia Pacific for Deutsche Bank Group. SMC as a whole has managed over US$1 billion in various funds. SMC and its affiliates engage in three core activities: direct investment, fund management and investment advisory. SMC has offices throughout Asia.
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