Did you know that a good art collector could beat returns in the stock market in both good and bad times?

Investment in well-chosen Philippine art pieces at a minimum of P100,000 to P150,000 could give a 10 percent to 30 percent in a year or two. For those who have a taste for the works of National Artists, the 1972 Bencab acrylic on paper, estimated at $19,000 to $26,000 eventually sold for $54,000, writes Giselle Kasilag in Kulay-Diwa website.

With stock, currency, bonds and commodity markets all over the world always in a state of flux, investors may find it worthwhile and less stressful to buy paintings instead of financial instruments. Or at least use this alternative form of investment to diversify his portfolio and spread his risks.

The real return, however, may not be in the form of cash. Despite the possibility of high earnings, art patron Rico Hizon, who is also BBC World?s lone Filipino anchor
, says the enjoyment that comes from the painting itself should be the primary return every art investor should consider.

?Look at it as something that will lighten up your living room, give color to your bedroom. You shouldn?t buy art because you want to make money in two or three years,? Hizon said in an interview.

Buying art to flip it could turn the investment into something that will make a buyer lose his peace of mind instead of gain it. ?Instead of feeling good when you enter the house and seeing your painting, you will think about how the investment bore a hole through your finances,? Rico said.

Just like any investment, however, art requires a lot of research from every buyer. Hizon recommends talking to the usual art grapevine ? galleries, art collectors and artists themselves ? all the time shrewdly avoiding the ?hottest artists? or art trends and styles.

?Don?t listen to what other people say. Don?t buy art just because galleries tell you to buy them. Talk to collectors and artists too,? Hizon said.

Having collected art for almost two decades, Hizon and wife Melannie decided to exhibit works of carefully selected Filipino artists in Singapore to put fine Philippine art in homes across the globe.

?We want their work to be in a house in Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, Jakarta. We sell art only to international collectors so that the world will get to know our Filipino artists,? Hizon said.

In the art business, knowing which artists to choose is crucial. ?What is important for us is the resume of artists. We don?t like self-taught artists. We look for those who come from top schools in fine arts like UP (University of the Philippines), FEU (Far Eastern University), PWU (Philippine Women?s University),? Hizon said.

Artists to watch out for are those who have the passion for their craft, and see painting as a long-term career.

?Do they have the passion for it? Will they join advertising or become a graphic designer if they don?t earn for a year? Do they see this as a long-term career? If they do, we promote him, we buy his art, we do everything for him,? Hizon said.

Hizon?s first brush with art happened when he was still a reporter for Channel 7 back in the 1990s. He met Bencab, already a well-known artist at that time, during an exhibit, bought a piece of his work and started growing his collection from then on.

In 2004, when the Hizons decided to promote Philippine art, they decided to focus only on the international market. ?We marketed them, asked reporters to feature them on International Herald Tribune, Asian Wall Street Journal, Straits times. We started with Bencab, Mark Justiniani, Elmer Borlongan ? all of them were sell outs,? Hizon said.

Filipino artists are known to currently sell at reasonable prices compared with Chinese art, which can cost from $30,000 to $50,000 or Vietnamese art at $20,000 to $30,000. ?If you talk to artists from different countries, they will always say that Filipino artists are good technically and themes are very deep because of our rich background,? Hizon said.

?Our investment in art can beat the stock market because the artists we buy are the ones who are hard to find. They are the ones who are in demand. But we have many in our collection that are in the no-sell column. These paintings we will just hang, enjoy, keep, and give to our children as inheritance,? Hizon said.

Although paintings may require more care than your usual stock or bond holdings -- oil on canvas cannot stand warm temperature ?- they can be enjoyed as their values appreciate and shipped when needed, as opposed to real estate. With the topsy-turvy financial markets, cash on canvas is turning out to be a good find for many savvy investors.