Alternative Investing Report - May 18, 2026

*as of 5/17, Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

New York Art Week kicked off with a major auction from Sotheby’s that brought in $433.1 million worth of sales, right around the pre-sale high estimate of $444 million, and well above the $186 million last year’s equivalent sale brought in. The centerpiece was a Mark Rothko painting that sold for $85.8 million, with two other Rothkos going for $20.8 million and $16.5 million. All together, 51 of the 55 lots sold, with 30 exceeding their high estimates.

➨ TAKEAWAY: It was a strong start for the New York auctions, and all eyes will now turn to the remaining big sales coming this week. One small sample size result was how well ultra-contemporary artists fared in the sale, with works from Yu Nishimura, Joseph Yaeger, and Ding Shilun all smashing past their high estimates. The ultra-contemporary segment has been struggling in recent years, so its overperformance in this auction is a trend to keep an eye on at the upcoming sales.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, Vincent's Slava Rubin talks with tZERO's CEO Alan Konevsky about tokenization, the future of financial infrastructure, and what it means for investors.

🤖 Anthropic nearing fundraise: The AI company is reportedly on the verge of a massive $30 billion funding round at a $900 billion valuation, surpassing rival OpenAI and nearly triple its $350 billion valuation from just three months ago.

🚀 Anduril’s big raise: The leading defense tech startup raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation, double the $30.5 billion it was worth a year ago. This is just the latest big round for the defense tech sector, which we covered in an investor briefing in late March.

🏡 Inventory still climbing: New listings are up 2.1% year-over-year, leading to inventory growth of 2.3%, which in turn has led to the median listing price dropping by 2.5% in the same time period.

🪙 Clarity Act advances: The much-anticipated crypto legislation advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee and will now go to the full Senate for a vote. It will need to be approved there, then by the House, and then signed by the President before becoming law.

💵 Redemptions exceeding fundraising: Non-traded private credit funds returned $7 billion in capital in Q1 and only raised $5 billion, the first time that net inflows have gone negative for the sector and another sign that investor demand is waning.

🏢 Student housing fund: The Chicago-based Core Spaces raised $1.64 billion for a fund focused on student housing, an often overlooked niche that has been outperforming the greater market. Student housing tends to have strong demand that leads to low vacancy rates and steady rent growth.

This week: New York City’s Spring Art Week continues with major modern art auctions Monday night at Christie’s and Tuesday night at Sotheby’s and Phillips.

Tuesday: Pending home sales report released.

Wednesday: Nvidia will report its quarterly earnings.

Thursday: Housing starts and building permits numbers released; the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air.

Friday: Consumer sentiment report released.

Next Monday: Memorial Day.