On their own, wine, coins, holiday homes in Mallorca and paintings by Andy Warhol do not attract the tax perks of pensions. Gordon Brown, the chancellor, made that clear last December during his pre-Budget speech when he declared unexpectedly that residential property and other exotic investments could not earn tax advantages if put into self-invested personal pensions.

But a crop of funds is available for investors keen to guard these assets in their Sipps. While returns do not usually rival those of traditional mutual funds and equity shares and fees tend to be high, these funds offer a way for hobbyists to pursue their interests for some gain.

The youngest is Avarae’s global coins fund, which registered in May. Listed on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), this £5m fund attracted a flurry of attention a few weeks ago when its managers paid £400,000 to purchase Edward III’s gold double florin, a rare find which dates to 1344 and was only in circulation for a year. The price was the highest paid for an English coin and the British Museum owns the only two others of its kind.

But annual returns on coins are likely to be limited in the short term, advisers say. The fund caters to investors aiming to diversify their standard mix of assets.

The US coin market, more vibrant than the one here, shows the potential to be had. “In America, it’s a real industry,” says Ian Goldbart, a coin dealer and director at Noble Investments, the firm which advises Avarae. Though stamps see more interest, the history of coins is more varied because it is older.

Coins may appeal to the more academic type while wine tends to attract the bons viveurs. For those interested in watching the returns on bottles of bubbly or Bordeaux as part of their Sipp, the vehicle to turn to is the Vintage Wine Fund. As the minimum investment required is €100,000, it caters to wealthy clients. Fees are high with investors having to pay a yearly charge of 2 per cent and a performance fee of 15 per cent. Last year, the fund returned 11.18 per cent and in the first five months of this year, it reported a 7.75 per cent return, according to Bestinvest, the financial advisers. Because of a surge in interest, the fund is set to close before its August deadline, although there are tentative plans for a second fund.

A more affordable option for oenophiles is the Wine Investment Fund, which is sold in five-year tranches. At the end of five years, the wines are sold and the proceeds returned to investors. The 2003 tranche is valued as having returned 48.63 per cent to the end of this June, according to data from Bestinvest. The minimum investment is £10,000.

However, its directors have yet to approach a Sipp provider which would allow investors to put the fund into their pension. Fearful of demand levels, they appear unlikely to do so. “I wouldn’t want to wave a red flag in front of the pension industry and say, guess what, our fund is Sippable. That could break the model,” says Peter Lunzer, the fund’s wine adviser.

When it comes to returns, the gem of the “Sippable” funds is the Fine Art fund, which opened in March of 2004 and is run by Philip Hoffman, former finance director at Christie’s, the auction house.

Since launch, the fund has generated a cash-on-cash return of 48 per cent, management reports. Its portfolio includes paintings from the contemporary and modern periods as well as Old Masters and Impressionist works.

Pitched at long-term investors, it is a 10-year closed-end fund, which offers capital returns after three years. The minimum investment is $250,000 and the fees are 2 per cent per year. A 20 per cent performance fee is charged and the return exceeds 6 per cent in a year.

The fund has a team of art buyers and advisers, who say they are able to secure paintings at lower prices because of their understanding of pricing in the art market.

“It’s great because it’s a passive investment for investors who are interested in collecting,” Hoffman explains. “And people have the opportunity to invest in art across different periods.”

Most investors are interested in alternative funds simply because they want to diversify portfolios that would otherwise be dependent on equities and bonds, analysts say. They are not terribly concerned that these funds can be put into Sipps.

But one category of fund that has seen a definite uptick in interest since the chancellor narrowed the range of assets that could be included in Sipps is residential property.

Managers at Cordea Savills, one of a few fund managers to offer residential property funds open to retail investors, have lined up millions of pounds in pension money from financial advisers. About 70 per cent of the assets under management in its four residential property funds has come from Sipps.

“We’re seeing such strong demand,” says Roger Bruce, director of wealth management at Cordea Savills. Competitors such as Grainger Trust, Schroder’s and ING offer residential property funds, but they are only available to institutional investors. So Cordea Savills has been left “beautifully positioned” to cater to the large number of people still keen to include residential property in their Sipps, according to Bruce.

One of its most popular is its Diversified Residential Opportunities Fund. Structured as an open-ended investment company or an “Oiec”, it invests in sectors such as accommodation for university students and hospital workers. This type of accommodation shares many of the characteristics of commercial property.

Managers of this fund, which was launched last year and which has £15m in assets, are on track to beat their year-end target of 5 per cent income and 3 per cent growth, Bruce reports. Minimum investment is £10,000.

Cordea Savills also offers two other funds while a third will likely be launched. There is a £15m fund that invests in property developments and a Serviced Land Fund, which opened at the beginning of the year and has already been closed, investing in land sold to property developers, and now with £20m of assets. A second serviced land fund is likely to be launched later this year.

Putting money into wine and residential property is popular with investors and returns can be stable. However, high fees and steep minimum investment amounts are a drawback, financial advisers warn. Many tend to be quite cautious about alternative funds. Their rule of thumb is to advise “lay” investors to seek the best possible advice before putting substantial savings into these funds.

“Without specialist knowledge, it’s easy to make expensive mistakes,” says Justin Modray of Bestinvest. “In theory, this makes funds with experienced managers at the helm an ideal vehicle for holding these assets, but in practice it’s not so straightforward.

“The potential combination of high charges and an unproven manager without a long-term track record often makes it hard to recommend such funds.”