In this episode of Inside The Rope, David is joined once again by Kim Morrison, the Chief Investment Officer at Argyle Group.

Kim joins David to discuss the Argyle Water Fund, a fund that aims to provide investors with opportunities to invest in water rights and agricultural assets in Australia. By investing in these assets, the fund seeks to generate long-term returns for its investors while supporting the growth and development of the agricultural sector. By investing in water rights, the fund helps farmers unlock capital from their balance sheets, allowing them to transition to high-value crops and undertake long-term developments. This enables farmers to access their own private capital, leading to increased capacity to make their operations more sustainable.

The episode also highlights the stability of the legislative framework governing water rights in Australia. Including the deliberate processes implemented by the government, including buybacks, to balance water allocation between environmental flows and consumption. Kim also covers the concerns about environmental impacts, such as fish deaths, which can be attributed to natural factors like rainfall and flooding, rather than excessive water extraction by agriculture.

In this episode of the “Inside the Rope” podcast, host David Clark interviews Mitch Taylor, co-founder of Longreach Credit Investors and manager of the Longreach Direct Lending Fund.

The Longreach Direct Lending Fund writes senior loans to Australian and some New Zealand corporate borrowers, focusing on highly creditworthy borrowers that may have been neglected by traditional banks. Mitch explains how the fund is protecting against higher interest rates and inflation, and discusses the fund’s performance over the past 12 months, which has returned 8.74%. Mitch also touches on his background in credit and his experience working on a distressed credit trading desk during the 2008 financial crisis, which has informed the Longreach Credit Investors’ approach to protecting capital.

Mitch has a background in credit, including 16 years with Macquarie Group in Australia and the US markets. He also worked for Corda Mentha in insolvency and advisory work before joining Longreach Credit Investors in 2017. Mitch Taylor was previously a guest on episode 15 back in 2018.