In December of 2022, the global investment company KKR published a study on the benefits of investing in private credit in the current macroeconomic regime. Private credit can provide several benefits to investors who wish to diversify their portfolios while generating risk-adjusted returns.
Read moreTop 4 Ways to Connect with the Food System
48% of Americans don't know where chocolate milk comes from, according to the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. That's nearly half of the population of the U.S. How did we grow so far removed from our food system? More importantly, how do we reconnect with our food system? We listed the top 4 ways to connect with the food system.
Read moreHow to Expand Your Farm with Equity Crowdfunding
It’s not uncommon for farmers, ranchers, and landowners to fall victim to a foreclosure from the bank. In fact, there was a 40% decline in net farm and ranch income in 2015. So what other options can you visit before giving a bank control of your land? Trading some of your land equity for cash from an investor may be the best decision you make.
Read moreHow to Invest with Harvest Returns
So you’re thinking about investing in agriculture with Harvest Returns? Good choice -- investments in agriculture provide a hedge against inflation with little to no correlation to the overall stock market, and can be an attractive diversification tool for a portfolio. The universe of agriculture investment varies widely, with various crop types, growing methods, and offering structures, each with their own risk/return profile. Take a look at the simple steps below to get started. We are more than happy to aid you in your endeavors. But first, here’s a little bit about us.
Read moreHydroponics: From Farm to Fork
Hydroponics can rapidly help serve unmet demands for fresh organic vegetables, grown close to their market. Though limited by volume, growing food in hydroponic greenhouses has many advantages. Because the greenhouse's temperature and inputs can be precisely controlled, plants grow faster and face fewer diseases than their counter-parts outside in soil. A closed-loop irrigation system results in major water savings and uses less fertilizer, while not introducing pollutants into groundwater and soil. These greenhouses can be adapted to many different crops, and facilitate ease of rotation, which enable the farmers to more quickly react to changing consumer demand. Finally, growing hydroponic vegetables closer to consumers will help reverse the trend of foreign produce imports and transporting food across the oceans.
Read moreThree Ways to a Successful Investment Exit
Entering a new investment can be exciting. But it is just as important to understand how and when that investment will successfully end. Investors in private equity and venture capitalist are especially concerned about how they will exit an investment and recognize their gains. Because they invest in private, untraded companies, departing an investment is not as simple as hitting the sell button on a publicly-traded stock on a discount brokerage. Private placements are generally illiquid investments, and agriculture is most suited for those with long term investment horizons. That said, investments in farming don’t have to be set up in perpetuity. Harvest Returns equity investments generally are structured with one of three exit strategies:
Read moreCashing in on Hemp Crops
In what President Trump called a “tremendous victory for the American farmer,” the 2018 Farm Bill was recently signed into law which legalized hemp at a federal level, and allows states to have programs for growing industrial hemp commercially. The new law allows for transporting hemp across state lines, expanding export and sales options. Now, crop insurance is available for hemp crops, making it less of a risk for farmers to produce, making room for farmers to expand their operation with hemp.
Read moreUnderstand the Risks Before Investing in Cannabis
One of the hottest trends right now in the equity market is marijuana. It’s a long time illegal substance that has finally become legalized, and investors are looking to cash in. The market for marijuana is set to grow substantially over the next few years. The current market is valued around $8.5 billion with sales set to be around $23.4 billion by 2022. Everyone is trying to hop on the marijuana train in fear of missing out on such a lucrative new investment opportunity, but little research is usually done by these investors.
Read moreOpportunity Zone Investments: What Farmers & Investors Need to Know
The new tax reform legislation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, added a program called “Opportunity Zones” into the tax law. Similar to the 1031 exchange, Opportunity Zones is an economic development designed to benefit long-term investments by deferring capital gains taxes. Investors do not need to live in an Opportunity Zone to get the tax benefits, all they need to do is invest in a Qualified Opportunity Fund.
Read moreWhat is a PPM and why should I read it?
In many cases, private equity companies want to increase their level of growth without taking on debt or going public. If, for example, a company decides to scale up its operations, it can look to a private equity offering as a way to finance the expansion. When this happens, the business first decides how much capital it needs to raise and at what entry price. The company begins by working with a securities attorney to structure the offering. This is very different from an initial public offering (IPO), where anyone in the public can purchase equity (stock) in the company. A securities offering exempt from registration with the Securities and Exchange commission (SEC) is sometimes referred to as a private placement.
Read moreEquity Crowdfunding in Agriculture - Connecting Women Around The World
The female farmer may be regarded as a rarity, but we know women play a larger role in agriculture production than many think. Worldwide, more than 564 million women participate in agriculture, and nearly half of the agricultural labor force in developing countries is female. In the same stride, 30% of U.S. farmers are women, yet the face of farming is typically that of a man. Women make a strong contribution to food security and nutrition, at both the household and community levels.
Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, female farmer production is limited by barriers to finance, inputs, and extension services, as well as land ownership and rights. A common problem for most farmers in developing countries is limited access to capital, like bank loans. A recent solution developed to fill that gap is equity crowdfunding.
Read moreAlternative Investments in Agriculture Fight a Bleak Bond Market
Fixed-income security has been a good way historically to diversify a portfolio and lower exposure to stock market volatility, but 2018 may prove to be the year to exercise caution and rethink one’s investment strategies.
Read moreWays to Diversify Your Agriculture Portfolio
If you are convinced that investment agriculture is a good way to diversify your overall portfolio — and we hope you are — then how do you properly allocate your investments across different types of deals to maximize your returns and safeguard your principal? Agriculture is a hugely diverse investment class, offering many ways to spread your risk among various projects.
Read moreInvest in Aquaculture to Feed the World and Save the Oceans
High tech indoor aquaculture operations can increasingly meet the world's growing demand for fish-based protein in a profitable and sustainable manner.
Read moreHow to Invest Like a Family Office
The ultra-rich don't invest like other Americans. They don't cost-dollar average into subpar mutual funds they were forced into by their company's 401k plan. They don't get a hot stock tip from their hair dresser. People with a net worth of 8, 9, or more digits utilize family offices to preserve and grow wealth for the next generation. You can invest like them, too.
Read moreWhy Millennials Should Invest in Agriculture
For someone who is just getting started in building their wealth, the sheer variety of investment opportunities can be intimidating. Should you go with what nearly half of Americans do and invest in the stock market? Or invest in real estate and flip houses like you see on TV? Or should you just throw money from your paycheck into a retirement fund? Everyone has to make that judgement for themselves, but it's important to at least know you have options. One investing opportunity many millennials may not know about is the option to grow your wealth over the long term with agriculture.
Read moreThe Top 10 Investment Trends in Agriculture
The huge variety of crop choices can be overwhelming to investors new to the agriculture asset class. An option for choosing potentially profitable investments is to follow society’s food trends. Many Americans these days are heavily dedicated to eating clean, local, organic foods. Trending diets and popular foods are raising the value of these crops to farmland owners and investors.
Read moreHow to Invest in Agriculture With Your IRA
An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is a type of savings account that is designed to help you save for retirement and offers many tax advantages. Many employees end up with significant balances in their IRAs funded by roll-overs of their 401k plans after they retire or leave a job. Others build them up slowly with regular contributions. One of the best things about an IRA, as opposed to an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401k, is there is a vastly larger selection of investment options available within the account. Traditionally, investors only consider stocks, bonds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds when choosing investments for an IRA. However, these are not your only options. Agriculture can be a great addition to any portfolio, providing a low-risk option that generates stable income in the form of profit from the farm and capital gains as the land appreciates in value.
Read moreTimberland: Solid Returns with Forest Investments
Timberland provides numerous benefits that distinguish it from other investments. Timber investments have outperformed the stock and bond markets over the long term and do especially well in bear markets.
Read moreDiversifying a Portfolio with International Agriculture
The vast array of affordable and diverse investment opportunities in Latin American agriculture are largely unparalleled. As U.S. markets continue to struggle and become increasingly uncertain, many investors will depart traditional asset classes in search of better investment alternatives.
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