Investor Jim Rogers has launched a new fund, Rogers Global Resources Equity Index (RGREI), in partnership with Citic Carbon Assets Management and BBVA, saying the smart money is going into agriculture and renewable energy.
Rogers, well known for his interest in investing in commodities, was in Hong Kong this week to introduce the RGREI and its investable indices, which incorporate a basket of global resource companies with exposures to both traditional resources like agriculture, metals, mining and energy, and new, alternative resources. The index will be published on Bloomberg this week.
Citing food shortages, depletion of natural resources and growing emerging market demand, Rogers said he expected continued growth in the resource market, particularly in agriculture and alternative resources.
'Companies which can develop alternative energy, and execute it, are going to do extremely well,' he said. 'Energy prices are going higher, known reserves are running out, and if we have political turmoil like a war, then people who can produce alternative energy will grow even more.'
Regarding investment in commodities, Rogers dismissed claims that food prices were driven higher by speculation instead of changes in supply and demand.
'We are going to have a serious food shortage ... many things are going to be in short supply, and demand is continuing to grow,' Rogers said. 'If people think there is a lot of wheat around, bring it to the market. Statistics are very clear. We are having droughts. We have [a] food shortage. We don't even have enough farmers. The average age of farmers of a lot of places in the US is 58, according to agriculture studies, and in Japan right now they have to bring in Chinese farmers to farm the land.
