Financial Experts Debate Art Funds

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GENEVA -- A recent announcement by Sotheby's former European chairman Simon de Pury on his plans to start an art fund renews debate on whether it's wiser to invest in art for art's sake than to try to make money.

De Pury and his colleague, Daniella Luxembourg, were recently invited by a small group of unnamed collectors to head a private, unquoted fund that will invest in art for capital gain. De Pury, who was the personal curator for one of the world's wealthiest collectors, Swiss Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, has strong ties to art collectors.

Yet some financial experts wonder whether an art fund -- or indeed, any art purchased as an investment -- can …