Over the last few months a good share of my conversations have been with people who invest in forestry, farmland and other natural assets. Some run established managers raising a second or third fund. Others are building a natural capital team inside a larger asset manager or a pension scheme. Almost all of them are thinking about hiring, even if the hire is a year away.
The brief, when it comes, tends to start in the same place. They want someone with a strong investment track record who also understands land. That person exists, but there are very few of them, and the search usually goes better when the client has thought hard about which half of that description matters most.
Why these teams are hiring now
Natural capital is still a small corner of private markets, and raising money for it has not been easy. Allocators have favoured large managers with long records, and a first-time fund in a newer asset class has to work hard for every commitment. Even so, the managers that have closed funds are now deploying, and deployment needs people.
The disclosure side is moving as well. In October the International Sustainability Standards Board published its draft on nature-related disclosures, building on the TNFD framework, with comments open until February 2027. It is voluntary at the ISSB level, but jurisdictions can choose to require it, and investors are already asking managers better questions about what sits behind a nature claim. That pushes teams to hire people who can evidence outcomes on the ground rather than describe them.
Investor or operator
This is the question I now ask at the start of every natural capital brief. Do you need an investor who is interested in land, or someone who knows land and is moving into investment?
Most clients instinctively want the first. It feels safer. An investor from infrastructure, real estate or private equity already speaks the language of the investment committee and can be put in front of limited partners on day one.
My own view is that the second is often the better hire, particularly for a growing team. The hardest things to learn in this asset class are operational. How a farm actually makes money in a bad year. What a change in grazing or rotation does to yields over five years rather than one. Which local partners can be relied on, and which cannot. Someone who has run or advised on that work, perhaps in agribusiness, a large grower or a development finance institution, brings judgement that an investor can take years to acquire. The investment discipline, by contrast, can be taught by a strong partner and a good committee.
That is not true of every role. A head of the team who will lead fundraising and sit on the investment committee probably does need a deal record. But for the first or second hire below that, I would always look at the operators.
Where to look
Because the asset class is small, a search that only looks at other natural capital managers runs out of names quickly, and most of those names are already well known to the client. The broader pools are more productive:
agribusiness lending and agricultural banking teams
buyers, processors and large growers with sustainability or sourcing roles
development finance institutions with agribusiness and forestry investment
renewables developers whose land teams have negotiated with farmers and estates
consultancies that have run nature and land use work for corporates
Each of these brings a different gap, and the right one depends on what the existing team already covers.
What to put in the brief
A few things make this kind of search go better.
Describe the assets and the work, not just the title. "Investment director, natural capital" means very different things at a forestry specialist, a farmland fund and a nature recovery platform. Candidates from outside the sector need to see what they would actually be doing.
Decide what you will teach. If you are open to an operator, say so, and say who will support them on the investment side. Strong people from operations will not apply to a brief that reads as if it wants ten years of deal experience.
Be honest about the fundraising position. Candidates will ask where the current fund stands, and the good ones will have done their homework. A clear and honest answer early in the process does a great deal to keep them interested.
Think about location early. Many of the best operators are not in London, and some will not move. A team that can accept regional or European working widens the field considerably.
Where the good people are
Very few of the people I would put forward for these roles are applying to adverts. The investors are in post and well looked after. The operators often do not think of themselves as candidates for an investment role at all, and need someone to explain why their experience is what the team is missing. That conversation takes time, but it is where the most interesting natural capital appointments come from.
If you are building or growing a natural capital or real assets team, you can read more about how we run sustainable finance and impact investment searches or see some of the roles we have filled. I am always happy to talk through a brief before it is written, so do get in touch.
FAQ
What roles do natural capital investment teams hire for? Typically investment directors and managers, asset or portfolio managers who oversee land and forestry holdings, impact and measurement specialists, and investor relations. Smaller managers often combine several of these in one role.
Should a natural capital investor have an investment or an operational background? Senior roles that lead fundraising and sit on the investment committee usually need a deal record. For other hires, people from agribusiness, development finance or land management often bring judgement that is harder to learn than investment discipline, and can be supported by an experienced partner.
Where do natural capital investment candidates come from? Beyond other natural capital managers, strong pools include agricultural lenders, buyers and large growers, development finance institutions, renewables land teams and consultancies with nature and land use practices.
How does the ISSB nature draft affect hiring? The ISSB published a draft on nature-related disclosures in October 2026, with comments until February 2027. It increases the pressure on managers to evidence outcomes on the ground, which raises demand for people who understand measurement and land management as well as investment.