# RFF - Rural Funds Group



## System (13 February 2014)

Rural Funds Group Limited (RFF) is a real estate property trust which owns a diversified portfolio of high quality Australian agricultural assets. Investors are expected to benefit from capital growth through appreciation in the value of RFF's assets, and a stable income stream derived from leasing those assets to suitably qualified and experienced counterparts. Rural Funds Management Ltd (RFM) is the responsible entity of RFF.

Rural Funds Group Limited (RFF) is expected to list on the ASX on February 14, 2014.

http://www.ruralfunds.com.au


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## HelloU (6 August 2019)

Bonitas (think Glaucus ...think BLA) are not a fan of this.


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## Movendi (6 August 2019)

Wow 42% drop! What happened?


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## HelloU (6 August 2019)

Movendi said:


> Wow 42% drop! What happened?



the price target quoted here is .....let me check .... $0.00
Bonitas are using very plain english in what they say.


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## So_Cynical (6 August 2019)

Fraud - wow ok.

https://outline.com/tFP3qs


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## sptrawler (6 August 2019)

So_Cynical said:


> Fraud - wow ok.
> 
> https://outline.com/tFP3qs



That is scary reading, somebody will end up in the can IMO, if that report is true.


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## kenny (6 August 2019)

Wonder if they closed any of their shorts before the 17 mins was up and ASX put the stock into trading halt?

Is there a quick way to see which LIC's hold RFF apart from Argo?

*Shareholders*
Name Equities %
Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd. 29,822,242 8.95%
Netwealth Investments Ltd. 19,413,427 5.83%
David Anthony Bryant 14,414,854 4.33%
Telstra Corp. Ltd. 11,875,637 3.56%
The Vanguard Group, Inc. 9,787,551 2.94%
Rural Funds Management Ltd. 8,749,465 2.63%
Argo Investments Ltd. (Investment Management) 5,481,074 1.65%
BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Ltd. 2,977,239 0.89%
Asset Management One Co., Ltd. 2,036,911 0.61%
Mackenzie Investments Asia Ltd. 1,431,228 0.43%


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## sptrawler (6 August 2019)

kenny said:


> Wonder if they closed any of their shorts before the 17 mins was up and ASX put the stock into trading halt?
> 
> Is there a quick way to see which LIC's hold RFF apart from Argo?



MLT and AFI don't have them listed in their top holdings.


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## banco (6 August 2019)

Who do these trading halts serve?  Not the trapped retail investor it seems.


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## kenny (7 August 2019)

banco said:


> Who do these trading halts serve?  Not the trapped retail investor it seems.



The theory behind trading halts is to allow the company to essentially maintain a level playing field in terms of information disclosure. The pause in trading allows the company time to manage its obligations under the continuous disclosure regulations and minimises the impact on the market in terms of volatility.
https://www.asx.com.au/documents/rules/gn16_trading_halts.pdf


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## Trav. (10 September 2019)

Good recovery from RFF since the big drop in August.
Popped up in my daily scan yesterday so added to the watch list. 
I will be looking for entry and target ~ $2.20


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## barney (11 September 2019)

Just had a read of the recent announcements.  The Bonitas boys may need a good lawyer 

They admit to holding Short positions in the Stock and then rag it out.  The Company says its all lies.

All the Directors stepped in to buy Stock after the selloff which got the SP moving up quickly …. but I wonder how many S/H's got burned on what looks like a Stop hunt.  It all looks a bit ugly.


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## HelloU (11 September 2019)

Stuff I know 
??None of the stuff was available for reading outside the USA. 
3 weeks ahead can be searched in the NSW Supreme Court listings, I cannot see anything for RFM (but I am pretty dumb). 
RFF itself (the vehicle that shareholders buy into through the asx listing, so unsecured creditors of that entity) does not employ a single person.


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## HelloU (13 September 2019)

Follow up to earlier:
listed today for 27 sept.
Case 286421
No details provided ...... 
but RFF announcement today provided a claim outline.


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## barney (13 September 2019)

Matthew Wiechert (Bonitas) is the man who has raised the ire of the RFF chaps. He made several statements which the Company has stated are incorrect.

I think MW has to also declare any profits he made on the Short selling and I suspect if he loses the case, those profits could be added to any settlement determined but that is just my interpretation.

Unless there is undisclosed information yet to be revealed, I wouldn't like to be in his shoes fighting a $0.6 billion dollar Company after reading the Company brief … although given the quality of that suit, I'd say he is probably wearing very nice shoes!!

On the flip side MW looks like a smart dude who is not easily intimidated. Lawyers will be the winners I expect




MW founded Bonitas Research LLC in 2018 and Glaucus Research Group California LLC in January 2011, another privately held equity research firm. He was an institutional salesman for Roth Capital Partners from 2004 to 2010. His street learning experience was highlighted in the film "The China Hustle".  He received a B.A. in Economics with Honors from the University of Chicago in 2004.


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## Garpal Gumnut (13 September 2019)

I've often been tempted to invest in Rural or Timber and numerous other organic stocks, but thankfully resisted the urge. 

My impression is that large Private or International owners seem the only ones to profit. 

gg


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## tinhat (15 September 2019)

Garpal Gumnut said:


> I've often been tempted to invest in Rural or Timber and numerous other organic stocks, but thankfully resisted the urge.
> 
> My impression is that large Private or International owners seem the only ones to profit.
> 
> gg




Agriculture, aquaculture, timber plantations are stocks I keep clear of too. Often they are not as green as they make out and often they are seeking to profit from loopholes in tax and natural resource policy. Policies which are often put in place by politicians supposedly supporting rural and regional communities but who somehow always seem to end up working for the big end of town once they leave politics.


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## InsvestoBoy (21 September 2019)

Looks like RFF is on the downside again after a different firm which isn't connected to Bonitas and doesn't short sell has weighed in with skepticism.

https://www.businessnewsaus.com.au/...-scheme-that-could-collapse-at-any-time-.html


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## barney (21 September 2019)

InsvestoBoy said:


> Looks like RFF is on the downside again after a different firm which isn't connected to Bonitas and doesn't short sell has weighed in with skepticism.




Interesting … Corn flour added to the plot


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## aus_trader (22 September 2019)

From Forestry schemes to agricultural schemes like RFF it seems the system is open for misuse at the expense of uninformed retail investors like us.

We are in a country that is full of good farmland and produce that can be generated from it hence the opportunity for investment. If there was no loopholes for fraud I would happily put my own money into investments involving farmland, fresh produce, meat & poultry, milk & cheese and other dairy products and even forest schemes for producing timber. The sad thing is these schemes are littered with fraud and I am appalled by how many of them have become insolvent/bankrupt over the years that I have been following the share market.

So despite the love for our farms and land in this vast country of ours, when it comes to investing I am with tinhat on this sector.


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## qldfrog (22 September 2019)

Fully agree @aus_trader , and it is a shame as we Australians should support our own land and farmers farming but it is rort after rort, even the big players have abysmal returns


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## Parse (30 December 2019)

While there is negative sentiment to agricultural stocks like RFF, I still think they can move forward in 2020. RFF aims to grow its distribution by 4% each year. That’s a nice growth rate when the FY20 distribution yield is 5.7% at the moment.
Recently they sold a bunch of chooks (poultry assets) to ProTen Investment Management Pty Ltd for $72.0m, and in return used some of the money to  fund the acquisition of three WA cattle properties for $22.6m.


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## Dona Ferentes (17 February 2020)

An article in *The Weekend Australian*, written by James Kirby, looks at shorting and especially RFF that was on the receiving end of a 'research paper from a Texas outfit called Bonitas







> ...Big super funds that finance short-selling — especially industry funds that strive to take the higher ground in ethical investing — must surely be wincing at a remarkable story in the courts this week surrounding one of the nastier “short attacks” we have ever seen in Australia.
> In principle, shorting keeps the sharemarket healthy. It spots weakness and, at its best, forces companies to clean up their act. But how short funds actually work in practice is another matter altogether: a court judgment this week would seem to confirm our worst fears about shorts and how they operate in practice....





> On Wednesday, Justice David Hammerschlag in the NSW Supreme Court gave Bonitas a beating around the ears that was something to behold. Hammerschlag said the Bonitas report on Rural Funds was “materially misleading” and then he hit them between the eyes with this: “They (Bonitas) never took the trouble to check with or inquire as to any material which they broadcast … I have no difficulty in concluding that they did not care whether what they were saying was false.”





> Meanwhile, Rural Funds’ share price — at $2.05 — has recovered to a point close to where it was the day Bonitas launched its attack. Hammerschlag will announce his decision on damages in the case on 06 March. That decision won’t just be news in our market, it will be read by ever short-selling outfit around the world.
> If the Rural Funds exercise ends up costing Bonitas big money in damages, it will change the numbers for anyone considering a short attack on Australian companies. Or, to be precise it will change how shorters behave in our market...



https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bu...k/news-story/1319d52e887a7e625d5957c52fed5bdc


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## Dona Ferentes (17 February 2020)

It's been a slow rebuild since the 'attack of the shorters'. But RFF is gradually clawing its way back


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## aus_trader (18 February 2020)

Dona Ferentes said:


> An article in *The Weekend Australian*, written by James Kirby, looks at shorting and especially RFF that was on the receiving end of a 'research paper from a Texas outfit called Bonitas
> https://www.theaustralian.com.au/bu...k/news-story/1319d52e887a7e625d5957c52fed5bdc




Hope it will send a message to prevent this type of price action on Aussie stocks. It's one thing for a company to decline in price due to it's own problems and that is a risk that we all take as share market investors and traders. Stocks can gap down and nose dive due to poor earnings reports etc but that's part of the risk of holding shares and we need to be prepared to accept this risk when we invest.

What I am *not* prepared to accept is when stocks get hammered due to some short report who could be partnered with a super/investment fund to profit from the downside while killing the retail investors like us. If shares started behaving like RFF short, I will leave the share market for good and close the Speculative Stock Portfolio that is publicly shared on ASF as well.

I don't think there will be too many brave mum and dad investors left on the share market if these events happened all the time, so I hope justice will be served to send a shock to other shorting schemers (Global and our own AFR stock manipulators who FK mum & dad investors all the time as they did with APT in it's early days).


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## qldfrog (28 June 2021)

good timing for my entry in the investor portfolio..when the biggest states and world investors buy farming land, this might be a way for us, the 99% pc to save some of our bacon in the next crash


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## Dona Ferentes (8 July 2021)

Equity Raising  to provide capital for:
1. The development of 1,000 ha of macadamia orchards;
2. To acquire cattle properties to be leased by corporate lessees; and 
3. The acquisition of up to 8,338ML of water entitlements for $38.4m which are leased to a private farming company for five years, on AFFO accretive terms.

• Fully underwritten _*1 for 8.4 *_accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer  to raise $100m at an* issue price of $2.47*.


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## mullokintyre (25 August 2021)

RFF report sorta ok.
The cap raising that DF referred to above has so far been consumed only to about 40%, so one assumes there will be further acquistions  in the future.
I have been shifting away a bit from gold into food /agriculture companies, so this one fits the bill, but also  hold it for the divvy.
However, with so many more shares in the pool, its getting a bit diluted.
jury still out on this one,
Mick


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## divs4ever (25 August 2021)

mullokintyre said:


> RFF report sorta ok.
> The cap raising that DF referred to above has so far been consumed only to about 40%, so one assumes there will be further acquistions  in the future.
> I have been shifting away a bit from gold into food /agriculture companies, so this one fits the bill, but also  hold it for the divvy.
> However, with so many more shares in the pool, its getting a bit diluted.
> ...



 my av. SP on this one is $1.58 

 the big lure for me  was the quarterly divs. and an active DRP ( so i have asset growth , until i need to exit the DRP for div. income )

 i always worry about over-expansion  in a land of limited middle-management of quality 

 assuming the company resists any take-overs  ,  a likely candidate for a 'bottom drawer stock '

 DYOR


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## mullokintyre (8 November 2021)

RFF  hit a 52 week high of 2.87.
Its one I bought for two reasons - the dividends that the dividend king above mentioned, but also a  plan to rotate into food for the long haul.
Its up 12% since I bought in, plus had a divvy cheque.
Will still  hold on for the long haul.
Mick


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## mullokintyre (22 November 2021)

RFF still powering on.
Had lunch with a water broker yesterday.
learned that as of December 15th, the transfer of water between the Murray Valley and Goulburn system will cease.
Has already seen some of the big players buying up tracts of agricultural land  in the Goulburn irrigation area to plant almonds etc.
Might be something that will give RFF a boost.
Mick


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## mullokintyre (29 November 2021)

RFF announced a buy of a Queensland cattle property for a cool 69Mill.
The cattle portfolio i starting t get some serious size.
They expect beef  revenue to contribute 41% of 2022 total revenue.
This acquisition will push the total closer to 45%.
Still holding.
Mick


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## qldfrog (29 November 2021)

mullokintyre said:


> RFF announced a buy of a Queensland cattle property for a cool 69Mill.
> The cattle portfolio i starting t get some serious size.
> They expect beef  revenue to contribute 41% of 2022 total revenue.
> This acquisition will push the total closer to 45%.
> ...



Heavily in rff as well,  the reset we are living thru is pushing inflation, oil and next food price by creating shortages.abd with shortages cone higher prices


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## mullokintyre (22 February 2022)

RFF took a tumble today, down another 5%.
Its been heading generally downward for a few months after hitting the 52 week high of 3.22.
Lincoln have dropped it out of their Income stock group, bit I suspect that will be returned once they start selling some of the huge numbers of cattle they bought when taking over the big cattle stations.
Hoping it will slip below 2.50 and I will get a chunk .
Mick


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## divs4ever (22 February 2022)

would be hoping for something closer to $1.50  , but meanwhile i participate in the DRP   some no particular rush here ( to add extra using cash )


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## rnr (22 February 2022)

mullokintyre said:


> RFF took a tumble today, down another 5%.
> Its been heading generally downward for a few months after hitting the 52 week high of 3.22.
> Lincoln have dropped it out of their Income stock group, bit I suspect that will be returned once they start selling some of the huge numbers of cattle they bought when taking over the big cattle stations.
> Hoping it will slip below 2.50 and I will get a chunk .
> Mick



Hopefully the end of an A-B-C retracement and if so, then upwards from here!


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## qldfrog (22 February 2022)

rnr said:


> Hopefully the end of an A-B-C retracement and if so, then upwards from here!



My great disappointment.
Sold a 1/3 yesterday.going down and down for 2 months
It actually matched the spy curve when i checked yesterday..and the opposite of why i bought rff for..so my part sale.
As it was a substantial investment,this and the systems currently are my red numbers. Heavy in %... thankfully,PM/options plays doing well to more than balance.
Why an Australian rural land asset would follow a SPY fall is beyond me.....


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## mullokintyre (24 February 2022)

qldfrog said:


> My great disappointment.
> Sold a 1/3 yesterday.going down and down for 2 months
> It actually matched the spy curve when i checked yesterday..and the opposite of why i bought rff for..so my part sale.
> As it was a substantial investment,this and the systems currently are my red numbers. Heavy in %... thankfully,PM/options plays doing well to more than balance.
> Why an Australian rural land asset would follow a SPY fall is beyond me.....



I think its symptomatic of the  types of investors/traders/gamblers that inhabit the  investment space right now.
Maybe too much leverage, too much short term thinking, too much liquidity looking for quick returns.
Who knows, but  when they stop falling and a bottom appears, i will buy back in.
Mick


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