AcreTrader Raises Over $5 Million For Farmland Investing Platform
RZC Investments leads a capital raise for AcreTrader, an online investment platform that allows investors to own shares of U.S. Farmland.
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. (April 10, 2020) — AcreTrader, the online farmland investing platform, announces that it has successfully completed a seed round of funding with a total raise of over $5 million. The oversubscribed round, led by RZC Investments, includes Revel Partners, the company’s Founder, and private investments from technology, finance, and agricultural leaders.
“Farmland has quietly been one of the best performing major asset classes over the last 30 years,” said Founder and CEO, Carter Malloy, “Large funds and private equity groups have been rapidly moving into farmland in recent years, but it hasn’t been easily accessible to most investors. With this round of funding, we anticipate allowing even more people to invest through acretrader.com.”
Proceeds from the capital raise will go to expand investment offerings, improve investor education about farmland, and continue scaling operations to support surging demand on the platform.
“AcreTrader’s momentum grabbed our attention, and after reviewing the market opportunity and positive customer feedback, it became clear that the company is poised to modernize land investing,” said Matt Tarver, partner at RZC Investments. “These attractive farm investment opportunities have historically been limited to larger institutional investors, and AcreTrader is breaking down those barriers to democratize the asset class.”
Investing in Farmland
As an asset class, farmland remains relatively undiscovered due to large capital requirements, high fees, and the intricacies of farm management. However, it has performed quite well for those with access.
Farmland has historically produced investor returns from two sources:
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Increases in land values
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Annual dividends from rent paid by a farmer
These two sources of value combined have produced an average of almost 12%* annual returns compounded over the past ~30 years.
AcreTrader uses crowdfunding to remove the traditional barriers to farmland ownership. First, farms undergo a thorough due diligence process to source high quality farmland with an attractive investment profile. This is led by AcreTrader’s team of experienced farm managers and eliminates ~99% of the parcels evaluated.
Farms that meet AcreTrader’s investment criteria are listed on the website where investors can purchase “shares” of ownership in the farm. AcreTrader handles all aspects of farm management, reporting, and administration, making it a truly passive investment.
Investors can receive annual distributions from farmers renting the land and can also capture land value appreciation upon the sale of the land.
Data according to NCREIF and assumes reinvestment of dividends. For additional information regarding AcreTrader’s current listings, including financials, reports and disclosures visit: https://www.acretrader.com.
About AcreTrader
AcreTrader is a real estate investing platform that makes it easy to buy shares of farmland and earn passive income, starting in just minutes online. AcreTrader provides transparency, flexibility, and ease of use to people wanting to invest in farmland while handling all aspects of administration and property management, from insurance and accounting to working with local farmers and improving soil sustainability.
AcreTrader carefully reviews each farm, selecting less than 1% of the total parcels considered, then places each farm offering in a unique legal entity and offers shares to investors through its online platform. For more details visit: https://www.acretrader.com.
Media Contact: Mary Mickel mary.mickel@acretrader.com
