.png)
Intro — AcreTrader's History
Founded in 2018 and based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, AcreTrader is a real estate investing platform specializing in farmland investments.
AcreTrader was founded by Carter Malloy, who came from a farming family and worked in public equity investing, and is/was backed by U.S. vice president JD Vance.
The weird thing about AcreTrader is that it only offers farmland investments, in contrast to most other platforms on the market (CrowdStreet, Fundrise, EquityMultiple, Arrived, what have you) which focus on traditional commercial and residential real estate. If you’re used to investing in multifamily, office, or retail properties, AcreTrader might offer something novel for your portfolio.
The platform allows investors to purchase shares in entities that own farmland parcels, effectively creating fractional ownership of agricultural properties; it’s the classic real estate crowdfunding model, but applied to farms instead of buildings. The platform is also exclusively open to accredited investors.
Is AcreTrader legit? Can you trust them? Let’s discuss.
(Pictured: AcreTrader CEO Carter Malloy.)
Key Features
AcreTrader specializes in farmland investments, with each offering representing a specific farm or agricultural property. The platform handles all aspects of farm management, including finding and vetting properties (they claim to select a “tiny fraction of the parcels [they] review, ensuring each offering is of the highest quality”), managing relationships with farmers, handling insurance and accounting, and overseeing the entire investment process.
Here's how their model works: AcreTrader creates a unique single purpose entity for each farm investment (usually an LLC). Investors can then purchase shares in these entities —as many as they’d like. The platform then partners with local farmers who operate the farmland, generating returns through both annual cash rent payments and potential land value appreciation. The single purpose entity typically holds the land for 5-10 years, after which investors may “expect to receive any applicable previously unreturned principal plus their pro rata share of any appreciation of the land during the holding period.”
AcreTrader’s investments are spread across various agricultural regions in the United States. The company’s focus on farmland may provide unique benefits relative to residential or commercial real estate: farmland historically has low correlation with traditional asset classes, and could serve as a hedge against inflation.
Investment Opportunities
AcreTrader offers investments in individual farms located in Mississippi, Illinois, Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, and California, among other states. Under Rule 506(c) of the Securities Act’s Regulation D, AcreTrader only offers investments to accredited investors, meaning that investors must meet the SEC’s net worth and/or income benchmarks for accreditation.
Fee Structure
AcreTrader charges a flat annual administration fee of 0.75% of overall farm value, which is typically deducted from the income of the farm prior to the making of any cash distributions.
Minimum Investment
The minimum investment starts at $10,000, and has sometimes gone up to as much as $100,000 for certain offerings (!), which puts them in the higher end of the market and reflects their exclusivity to accredited investors.
User Experience
The platform provides detailed information about each investment opportunity, including:
- Farm location and characteristics (row crops)
- Historical performance
- Soil quality analysis
- Local market conditions
- Investment projections
- Interactive maps and property photos
The interface is professional and well-organized, though not quite as streamlined as some residential real estate platforms due to the complexity of farmland investments.
Customer Support
Customer support is provided through phone and email, and generally regarded as responsive.
Investor Testimonials
Common Praise
- High quality of service ("I was impressed by the professionalism of everyone on the team. Attention to detail, responsiveness and ultimately time-to-execution was stellar.")
Common Complaints
- Lack of transparency (“Despite promising transparency, critical details are either buried or omitted entirely, leaving users in the dark about the true costs and limitations of the service”)
- Poor historical performance for some offerings (“Their Australian Avacado and Citrus Farms have gone under and in receivership. Big mess and many people are losing all their money,” “I am set to loose [sic] my money on the Avocado farm. They claim that they do rigorous research but I guess it is zero”)
(A Reddit commenter's insights into the pros and cons of AcreTrader.)
Similar Real Estate Crowdfunding Platform Comparison
AcreTrader vs. Arrived
It’s difficult to think of two real estate crowdfunding platforms more different than AcreTrader and Arrived. Arrived focuses on single-family homes, whereas AcreTrader focuses on farmland — these are two asset classes with completely dissimilar income sources, demand drivers, and geographic locations (suburban/urban vs. rural). AcreTrader’s offerings are only open to accredited investors, whereas Arrived opens them up to both accredited and non-accredited investors (this is because Arrived makes its offerings available under Regulation A of the Securities Act, whereas AcreTrader makes use of 506(c) of the Securities Act’s Regulation D).
AcreTrader vs. CrowdStreet and EquityMultiple
AcreTrader and these other two platforms — CrowdStreet and EquityMultiple — all limit their offerings to accredited investors only. The key difference between them, once again, is AcreTrader’s narrow focus on farmland as opposed to commercial real estate. Investing in both asset classes could potentially help diversify your portfolio.
We should note that it's difficult to conduct sound due diligence on AcreTrader’s offerings if you’re unfamiliar with how the agriculture industry works. Many accredited investors live in urban or suburban areas that are largely disconnected from this industry.
Scoring AcreTrader
Platform Details
- Years in Operation: 7 (since 2018)
- Minimum Investment: $10,000
- Types of Investments Offered: Equity
- Accreditation Requirement: Yes
User Experience
- Ease of Use: 4 Stars ... Professional interface with comprehensive property information
- Account Setup: 3.5 Stars ... Thorough but necessarily complex due to accreditation requirements
- Customer Support: 4 Stars ... Responsive team with agricultural expertise
Investment Experience
- Investment Options: 3.5 Stars ... Good variety of farmland investments across regions and crop types, though the focus on farmland is necessarily limiting
- Returns: 3 Stars ... In some cases, historical farmland returns have been stable with potential for appreciation, but certain offerings — Australian Avacado and Citrus Farms, for example — have performed very poorly and gone into receivership
- Risk Management: 3.5 Stars ... Strong due diligence process and professional farm management
Platform Transparency
- Disclosure of Information: 3.5 Stars ... Detailed property and soil analysis provided, although a minority of investors seem to be dissatisfied with transparency
- Fee Structure: 4 Stars ... Clear fee structure with reasonable rates
Overall Rating — 3.5 Stars ★★★½☆
- Summary: AcreTrader provides accredited investors with well-vetted farmland investment opportunities and professional management. The platform stands out for its thorough due diligence and educational resources, but certain investments haven't performed very well.
- Pros: Access to institutional-quality farmland investments, professional management and strong due diligence, geographical diversification options, historically stable asset class
- Cons: High minimum investment requirements, limited to accredited investors, lower liquidity compared to traditional real estate investments, longer investment horizons typically required, poor performance of some offerings
- Would Recommend? Potentially, but only for accredited investors seeking agricultural real estate exposure and willing to commit to longer holding periods
Conclusion
AcreTrader is reasonably well-suited for accredited investors looking to add farmland to their portfolio for diversification. The platform's focus on due diligence and professional management makes it particularly attractive for those interested in agricultural investments but lacking direct farming expertise. While the high minimum investment and accreditation requirements limit accessibility, they arguably help maintain the quality of offerings and investor base. (Although — it must be said — some of the platform's offerings have not passed muster in the eyes of some investors.)
We’d recommend this platform if farmland is your thing (it’s certainly not for everyone).
(A promotional video from AcreTrader explaining their value proposition.)