If you happen to have money to invest in these fraught economic times, art could be a shrewd choice. But make sure you can tell your Manet from your Monet, and your Picasso from your Pissarro, as not all painting pays off the same.

Michael Moses, founder of the Mei Moses All Art index, which tracks prices on art items repeatedly put on sale, says art prices do not depend on the stock exchange. They’re directly influenced by sharp rises or declines in people's prosperity. And as there hasn’t been much of either recently, art prices are growing slowly, but steadily.
Investment in different segments of the art market doesn't pay back equally, though. Among the hottest bids are currently Impressionist painters and Modernists, with a cool 14% profitability in 2011. Post-war art and contemporary works can bring their owner a 6,4% yearly profit, while Old Masters lag behind with 4,8%.
But the most lucrative in terms of investment is old Chinese art, capable of raking in a hefty 20,6% profit. This is mainly down to the Chinese economic boom of recent years, Russian business daily Vedomosti writes. "Well-off people in China want to show off before their friends with expensive pieces of art," – head of the Fine Art Fund Group Phillip Hoffman explains.

Despite this, art and so-called passion investment vehicles are not necessarily always reliable. "If you follow S&P, you can invest in a certain investment fund, and there are plenty to choose from. Meanwhile, there's no such thing as a fund of art indexes," warns Sergey Skatershikov of Skate's Art Market Research.

Besides, as Vedomosti reports, if the global economy hits tougher times, art collectors will face gloomy prospects: only renowned masterpieces will be able survive yet another financial storm.