The Finer Things in Life Weren’t Good Investments in 2019

When stocks and bonds do well, the rich usually feel richer, driving sales of luxury assets like wine, diamonds and fancy cars. That wasn’t the case in 2019.

The market for luxury assets has been subdued this year, despite a record year in financial markets. Driving the decline were geopolitical tensions, including uncertainty around Brexit and the U.S.-China trade conflict.

“The froth has gone out of the market. People have realized you can’t just buy stuff and expect the value to go up,” said Andrew Shirley, a partner at global real estate consulting firm Knight Frank and editor of the group’s Wealth Report.

Just about every financial asset did well this year. Major stock market benchmarks in the U.S. and Europe hit record highs. Bond prices surged as yields tumbled, thanks to looser monetary policy from major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. Gold had its best year in a decade.