Land Investment
We tailor our proactive land investment program to engage broad capital bases, deliver flexible and robust options for raising capital, and provide customized solutions for each asset.
Investment
Rising investor interest, coupled with the need for outside capital to finance land purchases, led Peoples Company to develop a proactive Land Investment Program tailored around identifying investment grade land acquisitions for investors and sources of capital for farmers who are looking for someone to purchase land they can lease.
With the financialization of the farmland asset class, there is a need to streamline the acquisition and diligence effort to enable efficient management of capitals flows into and out of the space. With its associated business entities, Peoples Company is one of the few firms with core competencies covering all aspects of land transactions, including land brokerage, appraisal, asset management, acquisition, and finance. The infrastructure and land transaction platform created by the company’s core business is driving opportunities and execution across its various agricultural-based entities.
Peoples Company consistently attends agricultural conferences throughout the country, such as the Global Ag Conference, the Agri Investor Forum, and NCREIF. The company also hosts an annual Land Investment Expo to foster key relationships with institutional and individual investors, as well as form new relationships with potential referral sources on a larger scale. Peoples Company’s land investment services allow the company to act as a clearinghouse for farmers and investors, by ultimately sourcing and managing deals between the two parties.
Peoples Company offers investment services in numerous forms in conjunction with its affiliates, Alternative Equity Advisors, DST Farms, Ag Capital Advisors, and mAgma.
Alternative Equity Advisors (‘AEA’) is a real asset investment firm specializing in the acquisition and management of agricultural farmland assets in the U.S. for private investors, such as family offices, endowments, foundations, high net worth individuals, and institutional investment firms. AEA acquires and manages farmland assets for each client on a separate account basis, and every asset is acquired within the client-directed investment mandate. AEA’s asset management platform implements value-added production strategies, including organic and regenerative agriculture, sustainable sourcing, and data driven agriculture. Through active farmland management, AEA is able to maximize asset performance and long-term appreciation.
DST Farms provides Section 1031 exchange investors with unique opportunities to directly engage the farmland asset class through Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) investment vehicles. As a sponsor entity, DST Farms specializes in identifying high quality farmland that has the potential to deliver above market returns and long-term capital appreciation, while mitigating investment risk. The application of the DST vehicle to farmland investing allows investors to take direct ownership in an asset class historically requiring capital at a scale that is out of reach for many investors.
Ag Capital Advisors (“ACA”) provides highly flexible, agricultural financial solutions to farmers and investors. This entity has a brokerage relationship with several major agricultural lenders, such as MetLife and FarmerMac, to support the origination of loans. ACA also manages a high yield fund that finances real estate with high LTV or high-risk loans. ACA offers both fixed and variable-rate term financing at competitive rates and can structure creative bridge and mezzanine financing for transitioning operations. This business unit has a unique framework and connections that allow a nationwide network of debt and structured financing sources and options.
mAgma is the world’s first digital marketplace that allows farmers and landowners to raise money through ‘tokenization’ of their farms. mAgma uses blockchain technology to create and issue digital, fractional shares of land and then sell those ‘tokens’ (shares) to retail investors. This tokenization of farmland will make it easier for farm owners to sell their land, generating cash that can be used to buy other farmland that they are renting, or to cash out their siblings. mAgma will also enable retail investors to easily invest smaller sums ($1,000 - $10,000) into farmland for the first time ever.
Industry Research
Peoples Company is proactive and works hard to anticipate the needs of those in the agricultural sector. We have co-authored two white papers entitled Socially Responsible Farmland Investment and Your Farmland and the Future.
Socially Responsible Farmland Investment
Dr. Mike Duffy and Steve Bruere
This thought-provoking paper asserts that changing demographics is driving a trend by next-generation landowners to manage for appreciation and create sustainability through socially responsible farming.
Your Farmland and the Future
Teresa Opheim and Steve Bruere
With around 10% of all farmland changing hands in the next few years, farm succession planning is no longer optional, it’s essential. The future of farmland ownership is set to look very different in the coming years.