TIAA-CREF has raised $3bn (€2.7bn) for its Global Agriculture II (TCGA II) vehicle.

Twenty investors, including AP2, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the New Mexico State Investment Council and the UK’s Environment Agency Pension Fund, backed the fund. 

Cummins UK Pension Plan Trustee and the TIAA general account both earmarked capital, while commitments also came from US and international institutional investors, as well as investors from TIAA-CREF’s Global Agriculture I fund.

The fund, which exceeded its initial $2.5bn fundraising target, will invest in farmland assets across North America, South America and Australia.

TCGA II has 20 investors, including AP2, Cummins UK Pension Plan Trustee, the Environment Agency Pension Fund, the Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the New Mexico State Investment Council and the TIAA general account.

Jose Minaya, senior managing director at TIAA-CREF Asset Management, said: “The macroeconomic fundamentals for investing in farmland are very positive, and we view the launch of this new strategy as a testament to the ongoing potential and attractiveness of this asset class.”

Westchester Group Investment Management, a TIAA-CREF majority-owned subsidiary, will manage assets for the fund.

TCGA I, which began investing capital in 2011, closed in 2012 with $2bn in commitments.

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