Agriculture

Agriculture
A diversified global portfolio of agricultural assets generating attractive risk-adjusted returns

Our Agriculture Strategy is dedicated to building a diversified global portfolio of assets, primarily farmland, generating stable, attractive returns over the long-term for investors.

We invest in agricultural land and rural producing assets primarily in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, focusing on high-quality farmland with a history of production and resilience through economic and commodity cycles. We seek to create unique, long-lasting partnerships with best-in-class local operators and invest primarily in the sectors of row crops, animal protein (dairy, beef, sheep), permanent crops and related rural sectors.

Key Highlights

Icon for High-Quality, Land-Based<br /> Farming Assets

High-Quality, Land-Based
Farming Assets

With production history and strong fundamentals
Icon for Own-and-Operate<br/ >  Model

Own-and-Operate
Model

Providing access to cash yield, capital appreciation and roll-ups
Icon for Global and Sectoral<br /> Diversification

Global and Sectoral
Diversification

Globally competitive assets have historically been best positioned to deliver strong returns across the commodity cycle
Icon for Strong ESG<br /> Considerations

Strong ESG
Considerations

Integration of ESG considerations at every stage of our investment process and promotion of best ESG practices within our platforms
Icon for High-Quality Farming Partners

High-Quality Farming Partners

Equity partnerships with local, top-tier operators

Portfolio Footprint

Since inception, Fiera Comox’s Global Agriculture Fund has invested in 10 investment platforms across 4 targeted countries and 4 sub-sectors. This provides current and prospective investors with a balanced exposure to the asset class and diversification benefits, with an exposure to over 370,000+ acres of farmland producing over 15 different agricultural commodities in 14 climate regions.

Fiera Comox is continually evaluating new investment opportunities to complement its current portfolio.

14
Climate
Regions
370K
Acres of
Farmland
15
Different
Agricultural
Commodities

United States

Commodities

  • Apples and Cherries
  • Almonds
  • Maple Syrup
  • Cherries, Cherry Plums, Golden Kiwis

Investment Parameters

Sectors

Icon for Row Crops Row Crops Up to 50%
Icon for Animal Protein Animal Protein Up to 40%
Icon for Permanent Crops Permanent Crops Up to 50%
Icon for Related Rural Related Rural Up to 40%

Geography

Icon for United States United States Up to 65%
Icon for Australia Australia Up to 50%
Icon for Canada Canada Up to 30%
Icon for New Zealand New Zealand Up to 30%
Icon for Rest of World Rest of World Up to 30%

Management Style

Our highly experienced agriculture team has previously acquired close to 5 million acres of land globally while generating a leading track record of returns. The founding team has worked together for more than 10 years, including at one of Canada’s largest pension plans, where they founded and led the Natural Resources group, which at the time of their departure was one of the largest investors in the sector globally.

The team has developed a robust due diligence process, large deal pipeline, and extensive global network of reputable operators. Fiera Comox has a deep understanding of an assets’ positioning on the global cost curve and the implications on risk and volatility. Its diversified sector and geographic expertise allows the team to best allocate capital to different agricultural sectors and regions to target superior risk-adjusted returns in various market environment.

Key Principles

  • High-quality, land-centric farming assets, providing a core risk exposure to the asset class. Selection of assets with a production history in markets with strong supply and demand fundamentals that are well positioned to generate cash yield and capital appreciation
  • Own-and-operate model with value add opportunities, providing access to cash yield, capital appreciations and alpha through active roll-up strategy and land improvement initiatives
  • Partnership approach which aligns interests and attracts the best operating partners in the world, thus increasing the depth of operating expertise while expanding deal sourcing and growth capabilities through the development of investment platforms. Entrepreneurial model promoting global sharing of best agricultural practices, combining operational and private equity diligence and discipline
  • Geographical and sectoral diversification allows the diversification of idiosyncratic risk and to allocate capital toward globally competitive assets that have historically been best positioned to deliver strong returns across commodity cycles
  • Strong ESG focus by integrating ESG considerations at every stage of our investment and underwriting processes and by promoting a ESG-driven culture across our platforms

Farmland as an asset class has historically offered the following benefits:

  • Portfolio Diversification – Farmland exhibits negative/low correlation with traditional asset classes and alternative asset classes
  • Principal asset is land (60 to 90%)
    • Reliable store of value during market downturn
    • Largely protected industry due to food security
  • Strong Risk-adjusted returns – High Sharpe ratio over the last 20 years
  • Inflation hedge
  • Positive long-term secular trends: population growth; rising incomes and urbanization in developing countries as well as westernization of diets leads to increased demand for farmland while there is a decline in arable land per person
  • Attractive Cash Yield from crop production

Agriculture Team