Two big Canadian investment funds have joined a $2-billion
fund that’s buying farms.
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (Caisse), Quebec’s
pension plan, and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC), are
partners in the fund set up by TIAA-CREF, a teachers’ pension fund in the
United States.
They are tying to ride the demand for grains,
oilseeds and other farmed products.
Ironically,
they are not buying farms in Canada, but in the United States, Australia and
Brazil.
TIAA stands
for Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association which was formed in 1918 to
provide pensions for university professors. CREF stands for College Retirement
Equities Fund.
