Best of 2015: Polmann and Arnaboldi leave Adveq – exclusive

Over the Christmas and New Year period, we’re taking a look back at some of our most popular news stories and commentaries.

Berry Polmann and Gaia Arnaboldi have left Swiss fund of funds house Adveq where they were executive directors of real assets and led the firm’s agriculture investment effort.

Polmann joined Adveq in September 2007 as the real assets programme head and Arnaboldi first joined Adveq in 2006 as head of Adveq Opportunity but left in 2009 on sabbatical to re-join as real assets programme co-head in 2011.

The pair spent around four years interviewing institutional investors about their interest in real assets and in 2014 launched a co-investment platform for agriculture. The platform’s first deal was the A$211 million acquisition and leaseback of almond orchards in Australia from Singapore agribusiness Olam. The firm’s Harvested Resources Fund, a 12-year vehicle, invested in the deal alongside Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan, Danica Pension, Wake Forest University endowment fund and an undisclosed UK institution.

The fund is still in fundraising mode and there have been no subsequent deals on the platform.

Polmann and Arnaboldi had not responded to requests for comment when Agri Investor went to press. Adveq declined to comment.

Reporting by Louisa Burwood-Taylor.