Madonna fund seeks Material gains

Madonna may have just celebrated her 50th birthday, but the Queen of Pop is apparently far from reaching her peak.

Marquee
Capital, a London-based celebrity collectors firm, is so convinced of
the rising value of the brand of Madonna and other celebrities that it
is to launch the first investment fund dedicated to rock and pop
memorabilia.

The firm, which started as a group of
private collectors with a penchant for Madonna and is currently a
limited company with private investors, is planning to launch the
regulated fund in January.

Seeking to raise £7.5m, the fund will invest in the memorabilia of stars including Madonna, Marilyn Monroe and Jimi Hendrix.

Chetan
Trivedi and four friends have collected more than 150 items of Madonna
memorabilia including her 1985 Material Girl dress valued at £25,000
and the £12,000 wedding dress she wore in the 1996 movie Evita.
Although they are likely to face scepticism that the fund is little
more than a gimmick, they argue that the assets have soared in value in
recent years.

Trivedi said: "Nearly all traditional
investments are falling in value, but the interest in stars like
Madonna is undiminished and their value keeps increasing."

While
UK property rocketed 215 per cent between 1997 and 2007, Fraser's 100
Index of celebrity memorabilia and autographs grew 256 per cent.
source: UK TELEGRAPH