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Family office investments

Thorndale Farm family office invests in agriculture start up

September 1, 2014

A New York family office is one of several investors entering a $40 million financing deal with agriculture-technology firm FarmLink, which provides big data to crop farmers so they can benchmark and improve productivity.

The technology provides information about factors such as soil quality and yield, comparing patches of land as small as 150 sq ft to previous harvests or other farmers.

Koski family office hopes to strike gold at Colorado mine

August 14, 2014

The US-based Koski family office has this week revealed it has invested in a gold mine in Colorado becoming the second largest family investor to seek new reserves at the property.

The US-based Koski family office has this week revealed it has invested in a gold mine in Colorado becoming the second largest family investor to seek new reserves at the property.

The family office agreed to a $1.8 million (€1.35 million) financing deal with mining company LKA Gold to expand exploration at the company’s Golden Wonder Mine near Lake City, where only 10% of land has currently been explored.

Copy that! Investing in 3D printing

August 7, 2014

With the ability to create everything from human organs to houses, 3D printing is being touted as one of the next big disruptive technologies. CampdenFB looks at whether family offices can mint any money from the industry

For more than 20 years, US-based investment adviser Trent Capital Management has invested its clients’ money in smart technology companies. Mainly in mobile phone companies. As of now, the company has a new investment policy: 3D printing.

“It’s the first thing we’ve seen come along that is going to be as universally disruptive as the cellular telephone industry,” says Trent Capital Management partner Jim Folds, who is advising the company’s family office clients among others that the technology’s time is about to come.

The disruptors and the disrupted

August 7, 2014

Almost two decades since the concept of disruptive innovation was thrust into public consciousness, companies have both risen and fallen prey to the process. Kodak was a loser, Amazon was a winner, and the iPhone alone has disrupted a number of technologies – cameras, alarm clocks and radios, to name a few.

But this June Harvard Business School professor Jill Lepore argued it was time to give the concept (whereby new innovations suddenly shake up the marketplace, replacing predecessor technologies) a rest.

Investor visas: the keys to the world?

July 30, 2014

They say a golden key opens all doors and, with the right amounts of investment, buying residency or nationality to the country of your choice is no exception. So what are the various options for investors with the funds to spend?

Straitened economic times have brought a new lease of life to a well-established concept: investor visas. Cash-strapped governments looking for more ways to shore up their tax base and international investors seeking more global opportunities are just two of the drivers in the recent boom in immigrant investor or citizenship-by-investment programmes.

LJ Group invests in German student housing

July 28, 2014

British multi family office LJ Group has allocated €100 million to an affordable student housing venture in Germany, already acquiring its first property in Berlin’s inner city.

British multi family office LJ Group has allocated €100 million to an affordable student housing venture in Germany, already acquiring its first property in Berlin’s inner city.

The 30-year-old multi family office, which advises over $50 billion of assets, has partnered with Cresco Capital Group for the Cresco Urban Yurt venture.

Their first purchase in the student housing venture is a €60 million redevelopment of an aging building on Frankfurter Tor.

Ferd family office sells five tech and energy companies

July 15, 2014

Norwegian family office Ferd Capital has sold five companies to Nordic investment house Verdane Capital, in an effort to focus on larger and more mature companies.

Norwegian family office Ferd Capital has sold five companies to Nordic investment house Verdane Capital, in an effort to focus on larger and more mature companies.

In a statement, Ferd Capital, owned by the Andresen family, said the sale of five software and energy companies would “free up valuable time and resources” for its new strategic direction.

Raghavan family office takes controlling stake in Paladion

June 18, 2014

The family office of Indian tech entrepreneur Nadathur Sarangapani Raghavan, one of the seven founders of business consulting and IT firm Infosys, has acquired a controlling stake in information security company Paladion Networks.

Bangalore-based Paladion revealed late last year that it wanted to increase its revenue five fold over the next five years to Rs 500 crore.

Farm fresh: investing in agriculture

May 21, 2014

A growing world population provides not only an increasing global appetite for food production but also feeds growing investor hunger for exposure to the agricultural sector.

Seven years ago Rod Jones, who runs his family’s Texas-based investment office Cain Capital, felt his portfolio was lacking in diversity. He began looking for deeper exposure to the agricultural sector. Initially he investigated institutional offerings, such as fund baskets and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but was unimpressed with the vehicles he saw.

US family office invests in weight loss pill

May 19, 2014

A US family office is among the investors in a new weight loss pill that aims to treat obesity, weight issues and diabetes in a non-invasive way.

A US family office is among the investors in a new weight loss pill that aims to treat obesity, weight issues and diabetes in a non-invasive way.

Clinical stage company Gelesis raised $12 million (€8.7 million) in its latest round of fundraising to develop its lead product Gelesis100.

The pill is designed to suppress feelings of hunger without the use of invasive procedures, such as surgery.