Braemar Points to GDP Figures for Agricultural Growth

Resilience in the farming industry to economic pressures, as confirmed by the Office of National Statistics, is highlighted by Marc Duschenes Braemar’s CEO as evidence of Agriculture’s standing as a defensive asset.

Farming, forestry and fishing was the only non Governmental sector to have grown during the first quarter of 2009, in an otherwise gloomy outlook for British industry.

To capitalise on this growth investors must be involved in the sector and in the absence any other publicly listed alternative vehicles, Marc Duschenes commented, "Owning a farm or a forest in one’s own right is less affordable, and perhaps a lonely and time consuming investment to make for most investors".

He continued: "Our Guernsey listed Fund offers exposure to the sector in a pooled format and benefits from the liquidity that CISX offers. Whilst farming may not be an entirely recession-proof industry, it is certainly demonstrating the characteristics of a defensive and countercyclical asset, evidenced by performance during the recession thus far."

Performance to date has been strong relative to other asset classes and Duschenes points to further expected performance in the sector as the wider economy deteriorates.

Part of this out-performance has been derived by not gearing the fund, a decision that was taken at the OEIC’s inception to ensure a stable performance and liquidity, something that Duschenes feels his investors will be extremely grateful for.