Harvard University Invests in New Zealand Dairy Farm
NEW ZEALAND - Harvard University’s endowment fund has “moo-ved” ahead with a $20.7 million investment in a giant dairy farm in New Zealand.
6 October 2010
1 minute read
The Cambridge institution best known for churning out top college graduates is now the proud owner of a 4,000-acre dairy farm with 6,000 cows as a result of a liquidation-sale transaction finalized a few weeks ago.
Harvard Management Co., which oversees the Ivy League school’s multibillion-dollar endowment fund, has made previous dairy-farm investments in New Zealand, taking advantage of depressed sales prices brought on by the recent global recession.
The latest purchase, first reported locally by the Harvard Crimson, is for a farm about 900 miles south of Auckland, according to BostonHerald.com.
Though the purchase of a dairy farm might sound odd for a university endowment fund, it’s not at all unusual for a pension fund to snap up commodities and even entire forests as investments, especially during tough times.
A number of hedge funds are also betting on food products becoming big investment winners in coming years.
Harvard Management officials declined comment on its dairy-farm purchase, saying it doesn’t discuss individual investments.
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