Times Online- Pergam Finance, a Paris-based hedge fund with $1 billion (£511 million) in assets, is about to double the size of Campos Orientales, a fund that buys farms in Argentina and Uruguay, with a $60 million to $80 million fundraising.
Deborah Rockabrand, of Pergam, said that she had a list of wealthy investors – “a lot of individuals disillusioned with traditional financial assets”. The rich are scouring neglected and fringe markets for signs of hidden value as they pull their cash out of shares and bonds. Many funds are looking at agriculture, such as Blackrock, the hedge fund that has merged with Merrill Lynch, which has launched a £100 million vehicle.
Most of Blackrock’s fund will be in agricultural commodity futures, such as wheat, but a significant slice will be devoted to buying farms. Galtere, an American hedge fund, is buying farmland in the United States. In Britain Braemar, an AIM-listed property company, is seeking private investors’ backing for a £20 million agricultural land fund.
