Agriculture investment

Creating value through the sustainable management of agriculture assets


Why invest in agriculture?

Why invest in agriculture? Agriculture investments have a long history of generating strong financial results. The low correlation of farmland returns with the returns of other classes means that farmland can provide diversification benefits within investor portfolios. Farmland investments may also offer moderate inflation protection.

As a nature-based solution, farmland can provide positive social and environmental benefits by sequestering carbon, maintaining biodiversity, and contributing to rural economic vitality. As the global population grows, demand for food and fiber is expected to increase. Investors can capitalize on this trend while also benefiting from opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate climate change.

What sets us apart?

As the world’s largest natural capital investment manager,¹ our experience, size, and scale allow us to access a wider array of markets, reduce operating risk, and provide low-cost, high-quality asset management. As a responsible steward of farmland, we produce sustainable food and fiber, and we seek to operate in a way that improves the environment, nourishes communities, empowers our people, and delivers performance for our clients. 

  • Rooted in sustainability

    Our commitment to sustainability and responsible investing has been a core guiding principle embedded in our strategy and operations since the inception of our business.

  • Global scale

    Our operating history demonstrates that scale may provide enhanced acquisition access, production efficiencies, cost savings, innovation, and revenue enhancement opportunities.

  • Integrated property management

    Integrating property management with our business reduces costs and ensures that our commitment to sustainability is carried through from strategy to execution.

  • Focus on performance

    Our agriculture investment program has provided competitive performance since inception.2

  • Proprietary research

    Our research capabilities inform our investable universe, underpin our investment strategy, and support portfolio management decisions.

Important disclosures

1 IPE research, as of January 29, 2024. Ranking is based on total natural capital assets under management (AUM), which includes forestry/timberland and agriculture/farmland AUM. Firms were asked to provide AUM and the as of dates vary from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2023.

Regenerative farming practices

Sustainable food production can restore nutrient deficiencies, reduce vulnerability to pests and diseases, and decrease the need for synthetic inputs, all while increasing the soil’s water holding capacity and ability to sequester carbon.
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Committed to sustainable investing 

Agriculture provides investors with an opportunity to invest in assets that contribute to solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges, including climate change, nature loss, water scarcity, and rising inequality.³ We strive to play a positive role in confronting these global challenges through our long-term investments in agriculture and in the surrounding rural communities.

Read about our approach to sustainability
  • We’re committed

    We conduct our business activities in a manner that recognizes the need to preserve and enhance the quality of our environment and local communities.

     

  • We’re credible

    Working collaboratively with industry peers and nonprofit organizations, we developed an industrywide sustainability standard for agriculture, Leading Harvest. To date, 100% of our U.S. farmland is certified to the Leading Harvest Farmland Management Standard.3

  • We’re accountable

    We manage agriculture investments to achieve key priorities of our sustainability and responsible investing program, sustainably managing the resources entrusted to us and supporting climate change mitigation across our farmland. 

Important disclosures

Data is as of December 31, 2022. Certification is by Leading Harvest and is based on an annual assessment of the conformation to the Farmland Management Standard. Most current data shown. Please see https://www.leadingharvest.org.

Click here to read our recent annual sustainability and responsible investing report, which includes our performance against metrics aligned with each of our five key sustainability and responsible investing priorities as well as other external standards, such as the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and third-party certification system objectives.

Annual sustainability and responsible investing report

Our recent annual sustainability and responsible investing report includes our performance against metrics aligned with each of our five key SRI priorities as well as other external standards, such as the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and third-party certification system objectives.

Read the report

Certifications, memberships, and selected affiliations

Timeline

  1. Leading Harvest⁴

    Leading Harvest logo with black letters and a black plant design
  2. Global Impact Investing Network⁵

    Global Impact Investing Network logo with dark blue letters and a yellow spiral sphere design
  3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)⁶

    MIT logo
  4. PRI⁷

    Principles for Responsible Investment logo with black letters and blue and purple cubes stacked next to them
  5. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)⁸

    WBCSD logo in purple letters, next to a purple globe design with green leafs surrounding it

All logos are registered trademarks of the respective organizations/firms represented.

4 Leading Harvest5 Global Impact Investing NetworkMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)PRIWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Our diversified portfolio 

Our global, high-quality, diversified agriculture portfolio includes annual and permanent crops along with farmland plus integrated processing operations. We offer investors the ability to invest in portfolios diversified by crop type, geography, and management style as well as portfolios that target a particular region or market segment.

Farmland assets

Annual row crops 

Replanted every year, they’re generally priced comparably across the globe. They may include commodity corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat, rice, or specialty crops such as vegetables.

Perennial permanent crops 

Higher-value niche crops that grow on a tree or vine, which vary in pricing by location—and where best management practices can enhance value. They may include tree nuts, cranberries, apples, citrus, or blueberries. 

All data is as of September 30, 2023, unless otherwise noted. Portfolio snapshot chart displays agriculture assets under management as a percentage of market value by crop. Totals may not sum to 100 due to rounding.

Farmland plus agriculture assets

Integrated processing operations 

Operations may include value chain integration focused on processing, storage, packaging, and marketing various agriculture commodities. 

These assets may include vertically integrated permanent crop operations or indoor growth spaces.

Our team

Focused on optimizing the performance of diversified agriculture portfolios through the integration of our property and portfolio-level expertise.

View full team

Oliver S. Williams IV, CFA

Global Head of Agriculture Investments

Oliver is responsible for the overall direction and growth of Manulife Investment Management’s institutional agriculture investment program. He’s a member of the senior management team for the firm’s timberland and agriculture businesses and serves on the executive committee. He also leads the farmland management team, serves on the farmland investment committee, and chairs company boards for the firm’s Australian investment vehicles. Previously, Oliver headed the farmland asset management function. Prior to joining the firm in 1997, he spent five years with First Pioneer Farm Credit, where he was responsible for evaluating and appraising farmland and farm businesses for potential loans. Oliver holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, the Association for Investment Management and Research, and the Boston Security Analysts Society.

  • Education: B.S., Agricultural Economics, Cornell University
  • Joined the company: 1997
  • Began career: 1997
Oliver S. Williams IV, CFA

Daniel Baker

Director, Global Water Resources, Timberland and Agriculture

Dan is responsible for leading the global water team of the firm’s timberland and agriculture businesses by working closely with investment and property management functions to develop and execute the water investment, policy, and operations strategy. Prior to joining the firm, Dan was a principal at Aither, an Australian consulting firm, where he led the rural water and water markets consulting practice area. 

  • Education: First Class Honours, B.S., Interdisciplinary Studies—Environmental Policy and International Relations, Australian National University  
  • Joined the company: 2019 
  • Began career: 2013 
Daniel Baker

David Baughman, AFM

Managing Director, Acquisitions and Dispositions, the Americas, Agriculture

Dave leads the firm’s farmland acquisition and divestiture programs in North and South America. In this role, he manages a team that focuses on sourcing and disposing of farmland investment opportunities, managing the due diligence and escrow process, and developing strategic alliance opportunities.  Previously, Dave was managing director of U.S. farmland acquisitions and dispositions, and earlier, he was senior vice president at Hancock Farmland Services, providing oversight for the management of the firm’s leased row crop properties in the United States, as well as providing support for acquisitions and sales east of the Rocky Mountains. He was also responsible for oversight of the development and direct farming operations for 2,270 acres (~918 hectares) of cranberries in Wisconsin. Prior to joining Farmland Management Services, he worked as a farm manager for JHUSA. Earlier in his career, he promoted crop protectants to distributors, dealers, and farmers for the company now known as Aventis Crop Science. Dave is a licensed managing broker in the state of Illinois and holds the Accredited Farm Manager designation with the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

  • Education: B.S., Agronomy, Ohio State University
  • Joined the company: 1988
  • Began career: 1981
David Baughman, AFM

Julie Koeninger, CFA®

Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, Agriculture

Julie serves as a senior agricultural portfolio manager and leads business development for Manulife Investment Management’s global agriculture strategy. Julie's 30-plus years of experience in agriculture investing include portfolio management, product development, relationship management and consultancy.   Prior to joining Manulife Investment Management in 2018, Julie was director of agriculture at Conservation Resource Partners and, before that, was the product strategist for timber and agriculture at Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC where she led the development of and fundraising for GMO Renewable Resources’ first agriculture fund. Previously, she was an independent consultant in agricultural investment. Earlier in her career, Julie was instrumental in the development of the Hancock Agricultural Investment Group where she served as portfolio manager for the agricultural platform for several years. At Hancock, she also led the first-ever securitization of U.S. agricultural mortgages through Farmer Mac. Julie is a CFA® charterholder and is a member of the CFA Society Boston.

  • Education: B.A., Dartmouth College; M.B.A., Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College
  • Joined the company: 2018
  • Began career: 1985
Julie Koeninger, CFA®

Brent McGowan

Managing Director, Global Head of Agricultural Operations

Brent provides strategic leadership for the firm’s global agricultural property management platforms.  In this role, he is responsible for managing health, safety, environmental, and risk objectives while meeting client needs and maintaining internal profitability.  Prior to joining the firm in 2021, Brent was vice president of operations for the agricultural division at Wilbur-Ellis Company, LLC, where he led the company’s U.S. operations and managed the network of retail and distribution logistics, application, manufacturing, and procurement functions. He was accountable for safety, compliance, cost optimization, operational excellence, supply chain effectiveness, and risk mitigation. 

  • Education: B.S., Agricultural Economics, University of California, Davis
  • Joined the company: 2021  
  • Began career: 1996
Brent McGowan

Hugues Rinfret, CFA, FRM

Managing Director, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Agriculture, Manulife Investment Management

Hugues is responsible for the development and execution of agriculture investment strategies and growth initiatives, working closely with the Global Head of Agriculture. Hugues is also responsible for identifying and mitigating risk exposures related to Manulife Investment Management’s agriculture investment process, products and client investments. Hugues is a member of the Natural Resource Investment Committee (NRIC). He oversees portfolio construction and management function, and ensures investment processes and policies are current across the platform. He also plays a lead role in investment entity governance and appropriate risk framework for our clients. Additionally, he manages the Economic Research, Portfolio Management & Client Service (PMCS) and Global Water Resource teams.

Hugues previously served as Global Head of Valuation, managing the valuation team, financial models, investment plans and analyses for the firm’s global agriculture clients across the US, Canada, Australia and Chile. Prior to joining the firm in 2017, Hugues served as the Director of Research with MetLife Agricultural Investments and as a Senior Industry Analyst with SunTrust Bank, where he developed a market risk analysis platform for the food and agribusiness portfolios. Hugues holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations. He also grew up on a dairy and cash crop farm near Montreal, Canada.

  • Education: A.D., Farm Management, B.S., Agronomy, M.S., Agricultural Economics, McGill University
  • Joined the company: 2017
  • Began career: 1993
Hugues Rinfret, CFA, FRM

Andrew Strahley

Managing Director, Head of Australasia Agricultural Investments

Andrew leads the ongoing strategy, management, and growth of the firm’s Australasian farmland platform. Andrew has extensive experience in farmland agriculture in Australia and other countries. Prior to joining the firm, Andrew held senior management positions with ConAgra and Mitsubishi. Andrew has been a managing director of Hancock Farming Company and Hancock Natural Resource Group Australasia, the property manager for Manulife Investment Management’s Australian assets since its inception. Andrew serves on the farmland investment committee, company boards for the firm’s Australian investment vehicles, chairing each of the firm’s Australian investment vehicles and is a member of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

  • Education: B.S., Applied Science in Agriculture, Charles Stuart University at Wagga
  • Joined the company: 2000     
  • Began career: 1987
Andrew Strahley

Vehicles

Our agriculture strategy invests in global core and core-plus farmland assets through, open-ended or closed-end commingled funds for the benefit of institutional investors. Individually managed accounts tailored to meet investor needs are also available. 

  • Individual accounts 

    Individual accounts can offer investors a greater level of control over the strategies employed to meet their objectives and constraints. Individual accounts allow for portfolios to be tailored to meet investor-specific levels of risk tolerance, return targets, diversification, and cash flow needs but require a much larger capital contribution.

  • Commingled funds

    A commingled fund—open or closed-ended—can offer investors access to a broadly diversified portfolio at lower levels of invested capital than could be attained by investing directly, but the commingled structure offers less individual investor control than an individual account. An open-ended portfolio allows investors to buy into an existing asset base.

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Why invest in agriculture now?

The solid fundamentals supporting farmland as an asset class remain. Now, new advances are sustainably increasing farmland yields while creating additional income streams.
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Enhancing farmland value through sustainable improvements

Sustainable agriculture can promote healthier and more diverse farmland ecosystems while aiming to enhance efficiency and profitability.
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Contact us

  • Julie Koeninger, CFA

    Managing Director, Senior Portfolio Manager, Agriculture

    +1 617-747-1559

    jkoeninger@manulife.com