THE combination of geography and industry diversification - but especially people - is helping to spread risk and deliver for Brisbane-based agricultural company AAM Investment Group.
Speaking at the Rural Press Club on Queensland, AAM founder and managing director Garry Edwards said cattle, meatsheep, saleyards, poultry and energy across Australia all played an important role in risk management and generating stable returns to investors.
However, it was the people involved in the business that made the biggest difference.
"Our business fundamentally is about investing in rural and regional Australia," Mr Edwards said.
"We don't have any investment in any metropolitan regions. Every single thing we do is about getting money out in the communities.
"The reality is we try and find the more challenging projects, because if it is easy there tends to be very little value. And more often than not, everyone is doing it."
AAM's diverse 32 assets include the organic sheep and cattle operation Terrick at Blackall and the 33,000 head Legune cattle station in the Northern Territory. The asset and investment manager also has eight livestock selling centres as well as a softwood operation in central NSW, a poultry farm in South Australia and a PV energy generator under its control.
Mr Edwards said AAM was about creating diversified agricultural investment portfolios that provided wholesale investors with stabilised returns and capital growth.
"What our target is and what we do is deliver a quarterly dividend," he said.
"We provide capital exposure and diversification that allows us to do that.
"If we were exposed to a single commodity and a single supply change we would be exposed and not able to do that because of seasonal tendencies."
AAM has $402 million in direct investments and $520m in assets under management.
The Rural Press Club of Queensland's next event is on April 15, featuring now departed DAF director-general Dr Beth Woods and new director-general Bob Gee.
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