An interesting development saw a pension fund recently set up a company (see name and link below) that will that will invest its own assets as well as those of peers in actual farms in the developed and developing world.
TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture LLC
Set of skills needed to run an agfund follow:
"In every acquisition, our agricultural investment team considers farm-specific investment criteria. These factors take into account regional and micro-climate factors, including weather variability and soil types; the strength of local infrastructure and tenant markets; water availability and sustainability; crop returns; environmental and social impacts; the potential for future operational growth; and capital gains. Our investment decision-making is also based on crop type. Row crops generally exhibit stable income and capital return, while permanent crops offer higher income, but also higher risk. As a result, we focus on row-crop farmland and make select, opportunistic investments in permanent-crop farmland. To ensure sustainability, we place a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship and seek investments in line with this philosophy... Access to water and rainfall is one of the most important factors that the organization’s analysts consider before acquiring farmland. Especially in Australia, where the country goes from periods of drought to severe rainfall, water rights are significant to the agriculture portfolio. The property’s ability to capture and store water is also vital to its productivity.”
Link:
http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Popups/PrintArticle.aspx?ArticleID=3034187
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