Real assets of all kinds says Russ Whitney, including land, have performed well, years after the financial crisis. But managers of these assets need to know their category.
Real asset managers are different from financial brokers in many regards claims Russ Whitney. Chief among them are how they understand the assets themselves, beyond performance metrics. A real asset manager who works in land investments is perhaps the best example of this distinction.
Russ Whitney guides investing in any form comes with a balance of risks and rewards. But those risks can be mitigated with a balanced portfolio – involving land and more traditional equities, bonds, real estate and such. The input of an independent financial advisor can help identify the right balance.
For investors, this might reassure the degree of interest in land and property. Russ Whitney conveys, land investments retain an attraction to investors for several reasons:
1.Land assets outperformed securities – The world equity index generated an annualized return of only 0.1 per cent. Bonds did better, with an annualized return of 6.1 per cent, benefiting from a low-interest rate environment that could change soon. Real assets including land can and often do perform much higher.
2.Land assets are hedges against inflation – Real assets, including land, tend to rise in value with inflation. Considering Russ Whitney’s real estate land investments, which prepares and converts raw land adding into housing-ready developments, the demand for housing and price increases that outpace inflation.
3.Land assets are non-correlative to financial markets – Land itself lost little value in the financial crisis while the financial markets were in a tailspin.But to be clear, working in land investments comes with requirements:
4.Requires specialized skills – the predispositions of planning authorities, home site design and infrastructure. It’s far from a market security buy-sell scenario – and it rewards strategic and creative thinking.
Russ Whitney Real Estate 