Canada Pension Defends Saskatchewan Land Purchase

Canada

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has had to absorb some criticism lately, stemming from its recent purchase of a large tract of Saskatchewan farmland.

CPPIB bought 115,000 acres of Saskatchewan farmland in 2013; but the fund is now coming under fire for artificially inflating land values, among other things. Some observers are worried that there is a disconnect between what is best for the land and what is best for CPPIB’s bottom line.

[Read the criticism of the deal here.]

CPPIB senior official Michel Leduc has responded to some of those remarks in a column published last week in the Leader Post. From the column:

CPPIB has the ability to spend money on improvements to the farms, and to own the land for decades. During that time many emerging countries will see rapid increases in population and wealth, increasing the demand for food. Saskatchewan has the potential to be a big beneficiary of this global trend.

We spent a long time studying farming dynamics before we bought this land. And we’re proud to own it.

[…]

For a long time now roughly 40 per cent of Saskatchewan’s farmland has been rented, rather than owned, by the farmers who farm it.

Within about six months of owning the land we ensured that 18 abandoned buildings were demolished, seven old storage and fuel tanks were removed, and three yard sites were cleared up.

In addition, two ponds that were being used to dump waste were cleaned out. An abandoned water well was capped. We are working on improvements to irrigation, storage and drainage.

We want to partner with local farmers to improve production techniques – and the livelihoods of those working in the sector.

[…]

CPPIB is a patient, responsible, long-term investor. We do not plan to amass huge individual holdings of farmland, or to squeeze out returns. We will make reasonable investments to improve farms and help those farmers who choose to partner with us to compete.

Read Leduc’s full column here.

 

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CalSTRS Loses $125 Million on Florida Industrial Land

The CalSTRS Building
The CalSTRS Building

CalSTRS revealed Thursday it had lost $125 million on an investment – reportedly written off since 2009 – in a piece of industrial land in Florida that lost much of its value when land values went bust just over a half-decade ago.

CalSTRS had been waiting for the price of the land to recover a bit before selling – and the fund did recover some of its losses.

But the time to sell was now given the fund is restructuring its real estate portfolio.

More details from the Sacramento Bee:

CalSTRS said Thursday it lost around $125 million on the sale of some Florida real estate […]

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System confirmed that one of its investment partnerships recorded a $132 million loss on the recent sale of a swath of industrial land in Florida’s Palm Beach County.

CalSTRS spokesman Ricardo Duran said the teachers’ pension fund owned 95 percent of the investment and took 95 percent of the loss.

The deal was first reported by the Palm Beach Post and South Florida Business Journal.

Duran said CalSTRS wrote off the investment entirely in 2009, so the sale price represents a partial recovery of its losses. The sale price was nearly $3 million higher than CalSTRS valued the land in the third quarter of this year.

CalSTRS decided not to wait any longer for land prices to recover, however. “The likelihood of getting what we paid for it anytime soon is pretty remote,” Duran said.

Besides, CalSTRS wanted to unload the property as it implements a restructuring of its real estate portfolio, moving away from speculative land deals in favor of leased-up, income-producing properties. “This is part of our de-risking,” Duran said.

CalSTRS manages a $189.7 billion portfolio.

 

Photo by Stephen Curtin