Booze Trading on the NASDAQ? Investment Group to Become World’s First Publicly Traded Whisky Collection

The company, Fah Mai Holdings, seeks to be the world’s first publicly traded whisky collection and is seeking out potential IPO investors. (Photo: AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

An international investment company, Fah Mai Holdings, is seeking IPO investors to help publicly trade its whisky collection on the NASDAQ, Proactive reported Monday. Whiskies as alternative assets continue to grow in popularity in light of skyrocketing inflation and a potential recession looming on the horizon, according to Forbes.

In an email sent out to potential investors in the U.K., the company claimed it would IPO on Jan. 26, 2024. The email claimed that any funds raised would go to building a distillery.

Filings with the SEC claim Fah Mai is “an early-stage company whose current business is in acquiring, holding and divesting alternative assets, specifically rare whisky and similar commodities that the company expects to increase in value.”

Fah Mai Holdings is registered in the U.K., U.S. and Thailand. The investment firm expressed goals of opening bespoke clubs for its members, designed to cater to rare spirit aficionados and “high net worth individuals.”

Whisky as Alternative Assets: A Growing Trend

Rare whisky auctions continue to dominate spirits media headlines as the category grows in popularity each year. In July, one of the largest-ever scotch auctions featured one-of-a-kind whiskies, with some lots that were projected to fetch prices of over $655,000.

In May 2022, the world’s largest bottle of whisky — a bottle of 311 liters of 1989 Macallan single malt — sold for over $1.38 million during an auction for charity. With whisky fetching such high prices, it only seems natural these bottles would fall into the “alternative asset” category.

According to a piece that ran in Forbes in September, when the U.S. stock market was in “bear market” territory, investing in scotches seemed like an attractive alternative compared to traditional assets like shares.

Forbes cited soaring inflation and rising interest rates triggering potential fears of a recession and economic uncertainty. During times such as these, investors are more likely to be drawn to tangible assets, due to lower risk.

In the wine world, companies like Vinovest have capitalized on this already, for individuals looking to diversify their portfolios.

Prospective investors can choose to hang on to their assets, sell them — or even drink them — at any time, giving a whole new meaning to the term “liquidity.”

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