Private Markets Conference - Real Estate and Private Equities

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Private Markets Conference - Real Estate and Private Equities

At the recent Private Markets Conference - Real Estate and Private Equities hosted by Conexus Financial in Melbourne Lucy Purcell chaired a session - Ahead of the Curve in Agribusiness and Timberland. The question discussed was "agriculture and timber have had a challenging history however investor interest has been revived thanks to successful technological innovations in farming and growing demand for safe food products world wide."  The panel included;

  • Phillip Cummins, Principal, Global Private Capital, QIC
  • Damien Webb, Head of Income And Real Assets, First State Super
  • Lizzie Smith, Investment Analyst, Willis Towers Watson
  • Will Goodwin, Head of NZ Direct Investment, New Zealand Super Fund

The session ran for one hour and was attended by 80 industry representatives the majority involved with the superfund industry and professional services. This was the only topic on a specific industry and was driven by interest from the superfunds wanting to understand how to invest in the sector.  The take home points were;

  • to invest they want to see better track records to prove returns for investors
  • education is required between the agriculture and finance industries
  • value added products are attractive to investors to gain higher return
  • the finance industry recognised agriculture is a long term investment strategy