Institutional Investors

As institutions look to commit 20% of their portfolios to real assets, agri investing will gain popularity. But investment managers must be careful to ensure they have the right on-the-ground management, argues Detlef Schoen, head of farm investments at Aquila Capital.

Conterra Asset Management entered into a joint venture with Farmer Mac to provide fee appraisal services for farmland owners and is targeting a $100m first close of its agribusiness PE fund later this year.

The real estate division of French insurance giant AXA marked the start of its aim to grow its forestry portfolio by acquiring a large swathe of forest land in Finland for €11.2m.

The State Investment Council voted on TIAA-CREF Global Agriculture II on Tuesday, as the council's director of real return said at least a further $600m in commitments to the fund are expected.

HNRG, the institutional investment management arm of Manulife, has promoted Bill Peressini from chief financial officer.

The investment strategy is well suited to the super fund industry that largely lacks experience and knowledge of farmland investing, according to Tim Altschwager, national director of transaction services rural & agribusiness at Colliers International, the real estate services company.

The Australian government has lowered the threshold for foreign investments subject to review and will create a transparent land registry.

The institutional fund manager raised $33.9m from the sale of forest properties in Georgia and Pennslyvania from Timbervest Partners I.

A survey conducted by the School of Agriculture and Resource Economics at the University of Western Australia revealed that Western Australian farmers are supportive of foreign investment as a means to bring capital into the region.

The pension fund has hired Paul Mouchakkaa from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing to lead its $29.bn real assets portfolio.