Trading cards enter investor portfolios amid CGT changes

InvestorDaily

Trading cards once traded in schoolyards are increasingly being treated as investment assets, prompting greater demand for professional valuations as Australian tax reforms reshape how high-value collectables are assessed. The Auctioneers & Valuers Association of Australia (AVAA) said Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, AFL, NRL and cricket cards are now being valued not only for insurance and deceased estates, but also for capital gains tax, family law, finance and investment purposes, where accurate valuations can have significant financial consequences.

The growing focus on valuations follows capital gains tax (CGT) reforms announced in the 2026 Australian Government Budget, which the association said have heightened the importance of establishing the value of trading card collections as they become recognised as investment-class assets. AVAA chief executive Troy Williams said determining the value of a trading card involved considerably more than comparing advertised prices online. “Two cards that look almost identical can have very different values. Authenticity, condition, grading, provenance, scarcity, card population, market location and comparable sales all matter. A certified valuer brings that evidence together and provides a considered opinion that can stand up to scrutiny.”

The rest of this article can be found at investordaily.com.au.