[Please enjoy this informative and insightful sponsored post by FarmTogether.]
There’s never been a broader array of investment opportunities available to your average investor than there is today. The era of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds predominating in a portfolio are long gone: now, investors can find more opportunities outside the markets by way of alternative investments.
The broader world of alternative investments has not always been accessible for those without deep pockets or unless an institutional investor. Some alternatives, such as commodities and real estate, were always at least somewhat available to common investors. Others, like farmland investing, were the domain of larger firms that could take major ownership stakes.
This is no longer the case, however. Farmland, vintage wines, and even collectibles are options for personal investors looking to broaden their portfolio. A host of new startups are changing the way in which investors can access these alternatives—making them more accessible while also creating new opportunities in the process.
Here’s what you need to know about how FarmTogether has made farmland investing accessible for a broader array of investors, and why that matters to your portfolio.
The New World of Farmland Investing
To fully understand how farmland investing has changed dramatically within the course of the last few years, it’s important to understand what investing in farmland was like before now. 30 years ago, farmland was almost exclusively the domain of large-scale pensions, private equity, and insurance companies.
By the 1980s, pension funds and institutional investors were making their way into farmland by way of investment funds. These funds were designed to purchase farms and rent them to farmers, which heralded a new era in farmland investing. Individual qualified investors were still decades away from having access to farmland investment opportunities, however.
In recent years, the online crowdfunding investing space has paved the way for individual investors to incorporate farmland into their portfolio. More investors can now add farmland into their portfolios by way of fractional ownership. For example, FarmTogether offers accredited investors the opportunity to invest, which makes it a much more affordable prospect for individuals.
How FarmTogether Creates Access to Farmland Investing
The era of digitally-driven fractional ownership has changed the world of farmland investing, making it easier than ever to participate with an investment that’s sized right for your portfolio. FarmTogether’s approach to fractional ownership of farmland gives investors the power to decide what the best options are for their goals. You can choose from a variety of investment opportunities, each with its own value proposition.
The FarmTogether investment committee picks out premier properties across hundreds of agricultural investment opportunities throughout the United States. We then call upon internal and external experts to conduct due diligence, which consists of industry analyses, soil condition, tissue, water rights, equipment on the farm, and the capital improvements that could be implemented.
FarmTogether’s slate of investments have varying maturity dates, which means you can also choose your investment based on when you want to accomplish certain financial goals. These investments also come with distinct annual rates of return and net cash yields, adding further customization to fit within your portfolio.
Investor Opportunities Provided by Farmland
Farmland investing provides investors with several advantages. First, farmland investing with FarmTogether creates opportunities to tap into a new market segment for everyday investors. Farmland has enjoyed a decades-long track record of growth that has kept pace with inflation. Better still, this asset class has weathered economic storms that erased stock market value in the process.
Another opportunity farmland investing provides is exposure to several markets at the same time. First, farmland can serve a role as a real estate investment with more resilience than most residential or commercial real estate plays. Farmland’s value retention has proven it to be a more stable option over time that’s less prone to the boom-bust cycle seen in the housing market.
Farmland also serves a role that’s similar to bonds insofar as you invest in both for a set period of time. At the end of the term, you receive your initial investment plus yield, and may receive dividends from the sale of crops. Plus, farmland investing comes with higher rates of return than most Treasury bonds, and rivals corporate bonds.
When you invest in farmland, you’re also getting exposure to the commodities market. Gold is a common option for investors who want to protect market gains and shield earnings from market volatility and inflation. Farmland can help do the same thing, all while being demonstrably less expensive per acre than gold prices per ounce.
Investing in farmland with FarmTogether also helps you participate in the future of agriculture. The world’s demand for food is set to double in less than 30 years. To keep up with growing demand, farms need to adopt new technologies quickly. This is often out of reach for many family farmers who could benefit the most from their use. Farmland investing makes it easier for farmers to reinvest in their operations, which creates sustainable solutions to help feed the world.
These are just a few of the multiple benefits that farmland can create for your portfolio. Plus, when you invest in farmland through FarmTogether, you’re able to reap these benefits through a digitally savvy platform that helps you keep track of your holdings.
Getting Started with FarmTogether
FarmTogether makes it easy for accredited investors to introduce inflation-hedging diversification into their portfolios. Our dynamic platform makes it simple to enroll and get started with a selection of farmland investments that offer distinct value for your portfolio. All it takes is $15,000 to start, which unlocks new investments that can help hedge against market headwinds. Better still, your farmland investment with FarmTogether helps finance major agricultural solutions to help meet rising global demand for food.
When you invest with FarmTogether, you’re getting more than just a stake in one of the country’s leading farms. You’re also getting in on a distinctive asset class that comes with major upsides other investments can’t provide. When you invest in farmland, you’re also investing in the future of farming.
Learn more and begin investing in minutes at FarmTogether.com