Fund Structure

More is being demanded from investor relations professionals, so they need to make sure they have the skillset to match, writes Richard Harland, managing director at SEI.

Rural Funds Group, the country’s only pure agriculture REIT, sees bright prospects in cattle and cotton. We zoom in on the vehicle’s strategy.

The firm’s Buy and Lease Fund has acquired seven farms in the country since launching in June 2016, including more than 2,500 hectares in the last three months.

Fall Line Capital co-founder Eric O’Brien tells Agri Investor how university endowments became the main investors in the firm’s second vehicle, an evergreen fund that closed on $200m in 2016.

The firm, which expects to make two investments totalling $40m by March, aims for 20% to 25% IRRs. We spoke with chairman Rajesh Srivastava about fund structure and strategy.

President and chief executive David Gladstone said the farmland REIT hopes to avoid the temporary drag on earnings that can come with a typical offering.

Nearly 90% of assets held by funds are now unlisted, with the notable entry of sovereign wealth funds targeting the entire value chain.

The fund manager has exited the last of 17 properties held by SAF, a fund owned by a group of Australian supers.

Various indicators suggest institutional interest in agri is on the rise. Yet, so far, the appetite of the asset class’s largest investors does not extend much beyond their borders.

Novel asset classes must start somewhere, and often they start with private equity-like structures. Agriculture is no exception: most managers offer closed-ended funds, or are seeking to raise one. Over the last couple of weeks, however, two firms went on the record about launching open-ended vehicles. Coincidence or something more? Yesterday, we reported that Milltrust […]