Harriet Davies
Editor - Family Wealth Report
28 June 2012
Daily News Analysis
The software firm Trov has developed a web-based system for people to collect and manage information on their collectibles in a secure environment.
Wealthy individuals hold an average of 9.6 per cent of their total net worth in “treasure assets”, with shares reaching as high as 18 per cent in some countries, according to a recent report from Barclays. Given the volume of assets at stake, that is a significant amount of wealth held in treasure worldwide.
Trov’s system allows people to enter data on their valuable belongings and then brings this into a central, secure repository and “automatically” updates changes in value, the firm said, although the valuation process was not given in the press statement. The idea behind this is to provide a more complete view of a household’s total wealth.
Initially, the company is targeting the high and ultra high net worth market in the US, which it estimates at around 5 million people, and plans to work with family offices, other private wealth managers and insurance firms to expand their services. Further down the road it will launch a product for mass affluent and middle-income people.
The firm is also adding to its business in other ways, having just acquired two companies. Varda, one of the companies, will create the foundation for Trov’s new online property management platform. The other, Asset Archives, provides digital documentation and appraisal services for residential collections and contents.
"The two companies, Asset Archives and Varda, are pioneers in what will surely become one of the most important frontiers in technological innovation: the active management of tangible assets," said Scott Walchek, founder and chief executive of the San Francisco-based firm. "Since roughly 50 per cent of worldwide household wealth is locked up in non-financial assets, our combined team aims to unlock this other half of global wealth."
