Alternative Investing Report - September 22, 2025

*as of 9/21; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

Last week in London, Sotheby’s auctioned off British socialite Pauline Karpidas’ art collection over three separate sales that totaled more than $136 million, well above the pre-sale estimate of $80 million. The marquee Evening Sale had a “white glove” result, meaning that every single lot sold, and broke the London record for a single-owner auction. A significant portion of lots at all price points exceeded their high estimate, with many doing so by fivefold or more. The top lot was a painting by Magritte, and a number of the prominent sales were of Surrealist works.

➨ TAKEAWAY: This auction was a strong showing and a good sign heading into the fall art auction season, though it is possible that the result was a one-off. First, Karpidas was a notable collector, and the provenance of the collection could have boosted interest. Second, Surrealism has been a bright spot in the general art market downturn of the past few years, with total sales in the category rising 65% between 2020 and 2024. Still, there is cause for optimism and auctions later this week in Hong Kong will shed light on whether the market is truly on the upswing.

🚀 Netskope IPO: Cybersecurity startup Netskope went public last Thursday and has seen its share price hit $24.70, a 30% gain over the IPO price of $19. The IPO raised more than $900 million and the company’s valuation now tops $9.4 billion in a strong showing for the sector.

🪙 BNB tops $1,000: The native token of Binance, the largest global crypto exchange, set a new all-time high, surpassing the $1,000 mark for the first time and hitting a peak of $1,080 before falling back to around $1,020.

🪙 Crypto markets dip: However, the weekend brought a downturn in the crypto market, as Bitcoin fell by nearly 5%, Ethereum dropped more than 10%, and crypto’s market cap as a whole fell 6%. One potential reason is investors “selling the news” after the Fed rate cut.

🚀 Colossal Bioscience raise: The company best known for attempting to revive the extinct Woolly Mammoth and Dire Wolf announced a $120 million fundraise at a $10.3 billion valuation, as it embarks on a new project to resurrect the Dodo bird.

🏢 Student housing update: While rent growth for student housing grew just 1.1% year-over-year, pre-leasing activity grew by 200 basis points, hitting 93.7% in August. Long-term concerns about a possible decline in enrollment remain, particularly from international students, who are almost always renters.

🏀 Jordan memorabilia sales: A 1998 game-used Michael Jordan playoff jersey sold for just under $800,000 and a pair of game-used Air Jordan 1s sold for just under $580,000, highlighting Goldin’s Summer Game Used auction.

🏡 Homebuyers’ dilemma: With mortgage rates falling, and more interest rate cuts on the horizon, buyers have to decide whether to wait for cheaper rates likely to be accompanied by more competition and possible price increases, or jump into the market now with less competition.

Monday: The U.N. General Assembly begins today in New York; Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown.

Wednesday: New home sales figures released.

Thursday: Existing home sales figures released.

Friday: Christie’s 20th/21st Century Evening Sale in Hong Kong kicks off the fall auction season; Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) and Core PCE indices, the Fed’s preferred inflation metrics, released.

Weekend: Golf’s Ryder Cup competition between the U.S. and Europe tees off at Bethpage in New York from Friday to Sunday.