BEIJING and MILAN, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — As the global art market cools, a new suite of data-driven tools emerges, offering investors a rare edge. The Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB) and SDA Bocconi School of Management have unveiled the MM Art Indices, a groundbreaking set of metrics tracking global art market performance with institutional-grade precision.
Building on CKGSB’s successful MM Chinese Art Indices launched in 2023, the new MM Art Indices introduce the MM Continental Art Price Indices. These are the first comparative, long-term art price benchmarks constructed based on artists’ birthplaces, spanning Asia-Africa-Oceania, Europe, and the Americas.
The MM Art Indices, drawing from auction records dating back to 1873 from Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips across major global cities, reveal intriguing trends. Asia-Africa-Oceania posted the strongest long-term growth with a 7.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), despite a 6.4% dip in Spring 2025. The Americas bounced back impressively with a 31.7% surge, while Europe saw a 22.4% increase, nearly recouping pandemic-era losses, though its long-term growth remains modest at 2.3% CAGR. CKGSB Finance Professor Mei Jianping notes these regional patterns reflect deeper economic shifts. “Europe’s market shows maturity and stability, while the Americas exhibit postwar expansion and volatility. Asia’s growth, propelled by China and India, is rapid but uneven,” Mei explains. Notably, the Chinese art market rebounded 9% in Spring 2025, despite a 48.2% drop from its 2020 peak.
Researchers, combining the Sotheby’s Mei & Moses Index (1928-2000) with the MM Art Indices (2000-2024), uncovered a startling trend: 10-year rolling returns on art turned negative in 2023-2024, marking the worst performance in seven decades. “We’re witnessing a rare convergence of market conditions suggesting art may be historically undervalued,” Mei observes. “For long-term collectors, this could be a strategic entry point.”
CKGSB and SDA Bocconi have inked a memorandum of understanding to co-develop new tools, including European country-level indices and sentiment metrics, under SDA Bocconi’s newly launched Art Market and Finance Monitor. “The MM Art Indices bring much-needed transparency to a market traditionally lacking standardized benchmarks,” says Brunella Bruno, Finance Professor at SDA Bocconi. Andrea Rurale, Director of the Intensive Program in Art Markets and Finance at SDA Bocconi, adds, “By applying rigorous financial methodologies, we’re bridging the gap between cultural value and market performance.”
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