And as the ag prospects wither, so comes the latest bizarre investment trend. Invest in some funds these days and you might end up owning a piece of this:
According to today’s NY Times, institutional investors are buying up literal pieces of the agricultural system, like grain elevators, tractor fleets, ethanol plants, fertilizer stockpiles or what you see above -- a South African farm recently purchased by Emergent Asset Management.
Just as funds flocked to scoop up Florida condos during the housing bubble, money managers are beginning to hold farmland in similar regard. Asset allocators as large as the infamous BlackRock are buying plots of farmland all over the world. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sounds like a decent idea. But when Goldman Sachs starts offering CDOs of “farmland-backed securities,” run for the hills.
According to today’s NY Times, institutional investors are buying up literal pieces of the agricultural system, like grain elevators, tractor fleets, ethanol plants, fertilizer stockpiles or what you see above -- a South African farm recently purchased by Emergent Asset Management.
Just as funds flocked to scoop up Florida condos during the housing bubble, money managers are beginning to hold farmland in similar regard. Asset allocators as large as the infamous BlackRock are buying plots of farmland all over the world. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Sounds like a decent idea. But when Goldman Sachs starts offering CDOs of “farmland-backed securities,” run for the hills.
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