The Impax Food and Agriculture Fund, which launched on 1 December 2012, is managed by Michael Landymore and Simon Higgo. The fund’s concentrated portfolio aims to deliver growth and income, with a target yield of above 3%.
The Dublin-domiciled fund will invest in quoted companies across the full value chain of the global food and agriculture sector. Investable businesses include crop input suppliers, machinery manufacturers, agricultural producers, timber companies, processors, wholesalers and retailers.
A model portfolio established before the fund’s launch has 35% in packaged food and ingredients, 20% in agricultural inputs and 11% in growers and processors. Some 40% of investments are in Europe, 27% in the US and Canada, and 20% in Asia ex Japan.
Impax said that “compelling” long-term drivers of agricultural investment include population growth, urbanisation, rising consumption, depletion of limited natural resources and regulation.
Offering the investment rationale, Impax said: “Global population is forecast to reach over 9bn by 2050 [meaning] there are about 78m new mouths to feed each year.”
However, it noted that particular risks for the sector include environmental factors such as drought, unanticipated short-term movements in commodity prices and changes in government policies such as tariffs and subsidies.
