ASGA Pensionskasse, a CHF13.5bn (€12.4bn) Swiss pension fund, has awarded Stafford Capital Partners a mandate to invest $100m (€89.1m) in timberland and agriculture.
The mandate includes a commitment to Stafford’s latest timberland fund, co-investments in timber and a separate account for agriculture investments.
Stafford International Timberland Fund VIII, which invests in timber through the secondary market and co-investments, raised $262m in commitments in April.
Angus Whiteley, Stafford’s group CEO, said: “Our strategy of accessing the markets through secondary acquisitions, co-investments alongside the best managers and new fund investments is well established in the timberland markets.
“We are using this same approach in the agriculture markets, where we see great opportunities to access another category of non-correlated, income generating investments.”
Stafford Capital Partners has $4.8bn in assets under management and advice from over 75 institutional investors in Europe, the US and Australia.
Two years ago, IPE Real Estate reported that Stafford was helping another Swiss institutional investor, the IST Investment Foundation, invest in infrastructure on the secondary market.
