General Description of Advisory Firm and the Masterworks Platform
Masterworks Advisers, LLC (the “Adviser” “we” “us” and similar terms) is a Delaware
limited liability company that was formed on November 9, 2022. The Securities Exchange
Commission (“SEC”) declared Adviser’s registration as an investment adviser effective on March
13, 2023 and Adviser commenced providing advisory services on June 26, 2023. Adviser is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Masterworks, LLC (together with its affiliated companies,
“Masterworks”), a Delaware limited liability company founded in 2017. Masterworks owns,
operates, and manages the Masterworks.com online art investment platform, including mobile
applications and any related URLs (the “Masterworks Platform”).
Adviser has limited its activities to (i) providing potential individual investors with
education and non-discretionary investment advice on art as an alternative asset class through
investment in Masterworks securities offerings (“Offerings”) and (ii) acting as investment adviser
to one or more pooled investment vehicles that invest in art securities and whole artwork. Adviser
does not currently offer advice with respect to other asset categories or types of investments that
are not associated with art. Adviser will only recommend investments in one or more Offerings, or
that investment in an Offering may be unsuitable for a particular investor.
Investors who receive a recommendation from Adviser that one or more Offerings may be
suitable for that investor’s investment objectives will be given the opportunity to participate in
Offerings through the Masterworks Platform.
The Masterworks Platform is the first and largest online art investment platform that allows
individuals to invest in securitized artwork created by artists that have an established track record
of public auction sales and historical price appreciation. Masterworks facilitates art investment by:
● Sourcing and acquiring artwork from auctions, private galleries and private collectors,
● Securitizing the artwork by transferring it to a holding company that offers shares that
represent investment in distinct artworks directly to investors via its online Platform or
diversified exposure to the Post-War & Contemporary segment of the art market via the
Masterworks Diversified Art Portfolio, LP,
● Administering the artwork and the investment entities pursuant to a management
services agreement, and
● Integrating its technology with an alternative trading platform operated by a third-party
broker-dealer, which provides a means by which certain investors who have an
established relationship with Masterworks and have invested in an Offering can buy
and sell shares in Masterworks art securitization issuers in secondary transactions
(“Secondary Transactions”).
Masterworks seeks to provide investors with long term capital appreciation and intends to
hold artwork for several years before selling it opportunistically and distributing the proceeds to
investors, or, in certain limited instances relating to diversified artwork investments, reinvesting
the proceeds. As of February 29, 2024, Masterworks issuers had conducted more than 360
securities offerings and raised over $910 million for equity investments in artwork.
Offerings are conducted pursuant to exemptions from the registration requirements under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including Regulation A (Tier 2), Regulation D (Rule
506(c)) and Regulation S. Offerings are available to eligible investors in all 50 States and certain
foreign countries. Masterworks currently offers the following two types of investments:
● Single Artwork Investments - ordinary shares representing membership interests in a
Masterworks issuer organized as a Delaware limited liability company or in a distinct
“series” of a Delaware series limited liability company, each referred to as a
“single-asset issuer”, that reflects an investment in a single artwork; and
● Diversified Artwork Investments - ordinary shares in a Masterworks Delaware limited
partnership, referred to as a “diversified artwork investment vehicle,” that invests
offering proceeds in multiple single-asset issuers, as well as acquiring whole artwork,
with the goal of creating a diversified portfolio of artwork within one or more major
collecting categories. Currently, Masterworks sponsors one such vehicle, which is the
Diversified Art Portfolio (“DAP”).
Advisory Services for Retail Clients
Adviser provides limited non-discretionary advisory services to retail Clients. Such
advisory services primarily include providing educational information and investment advice
regarding Offerings and the potential risks and benefits of allocating capital to Offerings and art as
an alternative asset class, as well as providing recommendations designed to help investors create a
balanced and diversified art investment portfolio as part of an overall asset allocation strategy.
Adviser does not execute Client transactions on behalf of retail Clients and all investment
decisions are self-directed by the Client on the Masterworks Platform.
Potential investors in Offerings are solicited primarily through general online advertising
and marketing, which typically includes hyperlinks to the Masterworks Platform. Additionally,
Adviser conducts outbound prospecting to solicit interest in advisory services. If a potential
investor expresses interest in learning more about Offerings and developing an art investment
portfolio, the investor can establish an advisory relationship with Adviser (“Client”) and schedule
a call with an investment adviser representative (“Representative”)
of Adviser.
Advisory services are limited to an initial engagement and onboarding period that normally
lasts approximately thirty (30) days and is focused on educating the Client about art as an asset
class and the basic terms, conditions, fees and expenses and risks relating to Offerings. Investment
advice will be provided primarily on an initial onboarding telephone call between a Representative
and a Client who expressed interest in art investing through the Masterworks Platform. In advance
of the initial onboarding call, the Representative reviews basic information submitted by the Client
prior to the call. During the onboarding call the Representative asks a series of questions to
develop an investor profile, including information about the potential investor’s existing portfolio,
risk tolerance and objectives, and evaluates whether an investment in Offerings is suitable for such
person. The Representative will then determine, based on pre-approved guidelines, the portion of
the Client’s overall investment portfolio the Client should consider investing in Offerings, along
with advice as to how to allocate those assets to create appropriate levels of diversification and,
which of the available Offerings the Client should consider.
Subject to minimum investment requirements established by Masterworks, the
recommended amount of capital investment, as well as the number of available Offerings, it may
not be possible for a Client to immediately achieve the recommended asset allocation or level of
diversification. In such case, Representatives will discuss with Client potential options, including a
less diversified portfolio and/or potential additional investments when other Offerings become
available,. The Representative may also follow up with the Client during the initial engagement
and onboarding period to help the Client meet the targeted investment allocation and
diversification levels. Masterworks also currently sponsors a market for Secondary Transactions
in partnership with an independent broker-dealer, which is available to investors with an
established relationship with Masterworks. Specifically, due to fraud and money laundering risks
stemming from Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) transactions, Masterworks restricts access to
Secondary Transactions for (60) days following an investor’s initial investment. Since this
restricted period is greater than the (30) day advisory engagement, currently, Adviser and its
Representatives are unable to provide advice on Secondary Transactions. Once an investor gains
access to Secondary Transactions, they may consider those securities independently.
Adviser only recommends Offerings that are available on the Masterworks Platform on a
primary basis and Masterworks diversified artwork investment vehicles, such as DAP, in each
case, to eligible investors. Adviser and its Representatives only recommend an allocation to art in a
suitable amount relative to the Client’s overall investment portfolio and do not currently provide
advice on other alternative or traditional investments held with, or offered by, other financial
institutions, but may advise that an investment in Offerings may not be in the Client’s best interest.
Further, although Representatives may provide general art investment allocation advice and
recommendations, Representatives will only recommend a subset of specific Masterworks
single-asset issuers that are available during the initial engagement and onboarding period. Beyond
the initial engagement and onboarding period of approximately thirty (30) days, Adviser and its
Representatives will not monitor the Client’s holdings or recommend specific single-asset issuers
or other Offerings that may be issued subsequent to the Client’s initial investment or Secondary
Transaction opportunities.
Adviser and Representatives provide recommendations to retail Clients on a
non-discretionary basis, meaning that the Client decides whether to follow the advice of the
Adviser, including whether to invest in any particular Offering, how much to invest, when to invest
and how to allocate between Offerings. The advisory relationship will end after the initial
engagement and onboarding period, though Representatives will generally be available to have one
or more follow-up calls if an existing or former Client or potential investor has further questions or
requires additional information. Beyond the thirty (30) day engagement and onboarding period,
each subsequent telephone conversation will initiate a new investment advisory relationship.
Masterworks permits Clients, and former Clients, to make subsequent investments through the
Masterworks Platform at any time on a self-directed basis without entering into a new investment
advisory relationship with Adviser.
Before, during, and after the advisory relationship Masterworks will communicate with
users of the Masterworks Platform, including Clients, about Offerings. These communications are
not sent on behalf of the Adviser, and Clients should not deem these communications to be
personalized, or an extension of the advisory relationship unless specifically designated as such.
Masterworks may also provide additional information and promotional materials relating to
investments in Offerings to individuals who visit the Masterworks Platform, and such individuals
may be able to invest without becoming a Client of the Adviser. Such information and
promotional materials, which may appear on the Masterworks Platform, emails, newsletters, social
media posts, and or educational seminars, do not constitute investment advice with respect to
securities.