# Ceres Partners

> Ceres Partners is a South Bend, Indiana investment manager that buys American farmland and rents it back to the families who work it. Founded in 2007 by former hedge fund CIO Perry Vieth, the firm grew a single co-mingled fund into roughly 174,000 acres across 12 states, a 10.3% net average annual return, and a 2025 sale to WisdomTree valued at up to $500 million.

- **Founded:** 2007
- **Headquarters:** South Bend, Indiana, United States
- **Founders:** Perry Vieth (CEO & Founder)
- **Team size:** ~31 employees
- **Products:** Ceres Farms, LLC, Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (FAO)
- **Notable:** Delivered a 10.3% net average annual total return since inception in 2007, outperforming major farmland benchmarks, Grew from a single fund to roughly 174,000 acres and about 545 farm properties across 12 states, Built roughly $1.85 billion in farmland assets under management

## Products & services

- **Ceres Farms, LLC** — The firm's flagship co-mingled farmland fund. It acquires productive U.S. row-crop farmland and leases it to local farmers who grow corn, soybeans, wheat and specialty crops, generating returns from cash rent, crop share and long-term land appreciation.
- **Ceres Food & Agriculture Opportunity Fund (FAO)** — A private equity vehicle that invests growth equity in emerging operating companies across the food and agriculture value chain.

## Achievements

- Delivered a 10.3% net average annual total return since inception in 2007, outperforming major farmland benchmarks
- Grew from a single fund to roughly 174,000 acres and about 545 farm properties across 12 states
- Built roughly $1.85 billion in farmland assets under management
- Acquired by WisdomTree in 2025 in a deal valued at up to $500 million
- Founder Perry Vieth was named Pensions & Investments' top-performing fixed income manager in 2007 (16.1% return) before founding the firm

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — WisdomTree completed its acquisition of Ceres Partners, bringing the farmland manager into its private markets and real-asset platform.
- **2025-07** — WisdomTree announced it would acquire Ceres Partners for $275M upfront plus up to $225M in earn-outs tied to revenue growth.

## Links

- Website: https://cerespartners.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ceres-partners

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/ceres-partners
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-20