The following research paper was selected for presentation in the Due Diligence Forum program at PortfolioConstruction Conference 2008.

Category
Subcategory

Getting Real (Property)
Australian Agribusiness

Due Diligence Forum speaker

David Bryant
Fund Manager, ROF
Great Southern Funds Management

Due Diligence Forum summary

Agricultural commodities are currently benefiting from a global boom, driven by a combination of growing world population, dietary shifts in developing nations, and the rise of the biofuel industry.

This presentation and underlying research paper present analysis of historical price trends and the current economic market, suggesting we have entered a fourth wave of inflation and strong commodity price growth that may continue for the next 10 to 12 years and therefore investments in agriculture are becoming increasingly attractive. Additionally, the presentation and paper argue that agricultural investments are weakly or negatively correlated with traditional asset classes, and can truly reduce total portfolio volatility without necessarily compromising returns, providing a real benefit to investment portfolios.