The findings come from the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, compiled by Arts Economics. It draws on responses from 3,100 high net worth individuals in the US, UK, Mainland China, Hong Kong, France, Australia, Germany, Japan, Brazil and Singapore.

Inheritance is shaping that spending. Some 28 per cent of all collectors said family was their primary route into collecting, rising to 40 per cent among Gen Z. Almost 90 per cent of Gen Z collectors who inherited works kept them. Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, said the data confirmed that the Great Wealth Transfer is well underway.

Buyers are also doing more homework. Some 72 per cent conducted moderate or significant independent research before buying, up from 62 per cent in 2025 and rising to 80 per cent among Gen Z. Use of apps and AI tools for advice reached 22 per cent, up from 4 per cent in 2024, while 58 per cent used online resources.

The health of the international fine art market can act as a temperature measure of how confident high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals are about their finances, or whether their desire to diversify assets is changing. A number of large banks such as Citi Private Bank, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan provide fine art advisory services to clients as either discrete offerings or as part of a wider package.

The survey suggests that younger buyers are less interested in display than their predecessors. "Perhaps surprisingly, the youngest collectors were the most private, both in person and online," Dr Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, said. "Gen Z collectors were the least likely to share details of their collections publicly online, preferring invitation-only spaces, with privacy central to their personal and cultural identity."

Uniqueness and rarity ranked as the most important aspect of ownership for 43 per cent of respondents, ahead of owning works respected by experts or admired in collector circles . The figure was 48 per cent for Gen Z against 38 per cent for Baby Boomers. Despite this, younger collectors still favored traditional categories such as painting and sculpture.

Collecting interests are broadening. Fine art accounted for 33 per cent of total spending across art and collectibles in 2026, and 42 per cent of Gen Z collectors bought in at least two further categories beyond fine and decorative art in the past year, compared with 39 per cent of Baby Boomers.

Legacy planning remains a priority. Some 23 per cent of respondents plan to donate works to museums in the coming year, while others intend to support artist prizes, residencies, foundations or private museums.