The Top 20 Agri-Food & Forestry Fund Managers

Top 10 Agri-Food & Forestry Fund Managers: Agri Investor’s AFF20 Ranking

Agri Investor’s Agri-Food & Forestry 20 (AFF20) ranks the largest agri-food, farmland and forestry fund managers globally by capital raised between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2024.
The top 10 firms alone account for tens of billions of dollars in commitments to natural capital strategies spanning farmland, timberland, agribusiness, food and ecosystem services.
Clicking each firm name will take you to a page filled with data, contact details and fund information.

1. Manulife Investment Management

   Manulife Investment Management takes first place, raising $4.57 billion over the five-year period spanning 2020–2024.
   Headquartered in Boston, the firm is a global manager of timberland and agriculture assets, with a long history in natural capital investing and large-scale portfolios across the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

2. Paine Schwartz Partners

   Paine Schwartz Partners ranks second with $3.48 billion raised.
   The New York-based private equity firm is a specialist in sustainable food-chain investing, targeting opportunities across the global food and agribusiness value chain and has established a long track record of scaling portfolio companies.

3. Butterfly Equity

   Butterfly Equity comes in third, having raised $3.47 billion over the five-year window.
   Based in Beverly Hills, the manager focuses exclusively on the food sector “from seed to fork,” investing in production, business services and branded food and beverage platforms, reflecting investor appetite for specialist food-focused private equity.

4. BTG Pactual

   BTG Pactual is fourth with $3.36 billion raised.
   New Forests takes fifth place, raising $3.07 billion.
   The Sydney-based firm is a global investment manager of nature-based real assets, managing diversified timberland, conservation, carbon and agricultural portfolios, and has positioned itself at one of the major natural capital and climate-focused forestry managers.

5. New Forests

   New Forests ranks fifth, having raised $56.9 billion. The Paris-based manager is a leading force in European private debt, with strengths in real estate lending, corporate credit and alternative credit solutions for institutional clients.

6. Stafford Capital Partners

   Stafford Capital Partners ranks sixth with $2.25 billion in capital raised.
   The London-based private markets manager is a specialist in timberland secondaries and sustainable timber investing, recently closing its flagship Stafford International Timberland Fund X above target and emphasising carbon-positive outcomes across its portfolio.

7. Campbell Global (JPMorgan Asset Management)

   In seventh place is Campbell Global, with $1.81 billion raised.
   Headquartered in Portland and now a wholly owned timber investment manager within JP Morgan Asset Management, Campbell Global brings decades of experience in commercial timberland and forest management for institutional clients, executing large-scale acquisitions across North America

8. Arbor Investments

   Arbor Investments is eighth, having raised $1.669 billion during the period.
   The Chicago-based private equity firm specializes in the food and beverage industry, raising $1.2 billion for its latest flagship fund and underscoring the strength of mid-market, food-focused strategies within the broader agri-food universe.

9. Nuveen Natural Capital

   Nuveen Natural Capital ranks ninth with $1.668 billion in capital raised.
   Operating from New York as a land-focused natural capital platform, it combines farmland, timberland and ecological restoration strategies, overseeing more than $13 billion and over 3 million acres globally.

10. Gresham House

    Rounding out the top 10 is Gresham House, which raised $1.35 billion over 2020–2024.
    The London-based specialist alternatives manager is a natural capital and forestry stalwart in the UK, with dedicated strategies in sustainable forestry and agriculture, with a series of UK and European forest funds aimed at combining income, capital growth and climate impact.