The family farm and the modern global family

At a recent European family office conference, a member of the audience asked me what would be the best investment for a family of wealth. I responded that if she meant a truly long-term investment with a 50- to 100-year horizon, I would rely on the advice of a wise old American friend of mine. The best investment, he said, would be farm real estate in a common-law jurisdiction with a good recording system, such as the U.S., Canada or Australia.

One year after that conference, I met with an adviser to three wealthy Beijing families. I asked him what his clients were buying as investments, and he replied that their attention was focused on finding good farmland or timberland in the Southeastern U.S. “We believe that is the best long-term investment,” he said.

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