Brandon Zick: Harvesting Alpha Through Farmland - [Making Markets, EP.7]

Making Markets

Today's guest is Brandon Zick, the CIO of Ceres Partners. Brandon grew up on a farm and then worked in finance for a decade. In 2010, he returned to his agrarian roots at Ceres, where he manages a $1.4 Billion fund that invests in farmland.

In this episode, Brandon gives us an in-depth look at this unusual asset class, including the supply and demand dynamics, the economics of farming, and how Ceres chooses which farms to invest in. Please enjoy this conversation with Brandon Zick.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to the best content to learn more, check out the episode page here.

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Show Notes

(00:02:05) - (First question) - Appreciating the benefits of a farm upbringing

(00:03:26) - Segmenting farmland across the United States

(00:09:04) - Locating farms on the market

(00:11:39) - Realizing profits from farm ownership

(00:15:57) - Assessing the farmer population

(00:18:57) - Confronting bankruptcy risks in farming

(00:25:01) - Comparing operational and sales expenses

(00:30:41) - Exploring the niche sector of farm funds

(00:32:36) - The particulars of livestock investments

(00:35:41) - Identifying crops with the lowest returns

(00:38:08) - Navigating the farm acquisition process

(00:47:12) - Strategies for risk diversification in agriculture

(00:50:23) - Understanding turnover in the farming sector

(00:54:36) - The economics of crop monetization

(01:02:26) - Highlighting his most favored deal

(01:04:42) - Effects of low interest rates on the agricultural market

(01:07:23) - Analyzing the current phase of the market cycle

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