In early October 2024, multiple social media accounts supporting U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris sent money to AcreTrader, an app that allows Republican vice presidential candidate Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to “snap” foreigners. shared a copypasta meme that claimed to have a conflict of interest. Upload real estate transactions. ”
Here is the full text of the copied and pasted text copypasta shared online:
Remember: JD Vance got rich by owning an app (acretrader) that helps investors outside the US land real estate deals (including many family farms and rental properties). Ta. The deal is owned by people who have never seen the place and never will. And they just own those places to get money and power in our country.
This is not someone we can trust to have our best interests at heart. He betrays us for money.
Although this is an inaccurate description of the type of land the firm brokers (it only trades agricultural land), it is true that Vance provided funding to Acretrader in its early days and will continue to invest in it. There is a possibility that The investment was made through Narya Capital, an Ohio-based venture capital fund he founded in 2020 and will retire in December 2022.
As of this reporting, there is no indication that Vance has abandoned his interest in AcreTrader, but the specific investments behind several of Vance’s Narya-related entities have not been made public. We have reached out to Sen. Vance’s office and former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and will update this article as more information becomes available.
What is AcreTrader?
AcreTrader describes itself as a “farmland real estate investment company offering low-minimum passive agricultural investments.” This allows people to buy shares in real estate investment trusts as a form of passive income, similar to stocks. Charles Schwab explains:
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are securities that own and, in most cases, operate income-producing real estate or related assets that trade like stocks on major exchanges. Many REITs are registered with the SEC and listed on stock exchanges. These are known as publicly traded REITs. Other companies may be registered with the SEC but are not publicly traded. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high dividend yields and a liquid way to invest in real estate.
AcreTrader buys land from or with farmers and transfers ownership from the landowner to a private limited liability company. The remaining shares in these properties will be sold to the public. In many cases, the original landowner or its tenant becomes a shareholder rather than an owner and may continue to use the land, while receiving access to the funds raised by the investor.
When available, shareholders receive a share of the annual profits generated by their agricultural property. LLCs also preserve the value of the land and increase the value of your holdings. Profits from the sale of land are divided among the shareholders at the time of sale.
Can foreigners invest?
As of this report, the only requirement to invest in AcreTrader is that the investor be what the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission defines as an accredited investor. That is, essentially, someone who has sufficient funds and/or experience to handle the risk. investment. The SEC’s definition of accredited investor has no nationality requirements and foreign nationals are also permitted to invest in AcreTrader.
However, this is not the same as owning the land itself. As AcreTrader explains, “You do not own a specific location on the subject property; you own the entity that holds legal title to the land.” As explained in the meme: As such, due to the nature of the investment, people purchasing land are usually not involved in visiting the property itself.
Is JD Vance currently interested in AcreTrader?
In 2020, Vance founded Narya Capital to fund technology startups outside of Silicon Valley’s bubble. As reported by Crunchbase in 2021, in 2022 Narya provided seed funding to AcreTrader.
During his tenure as a venture capitalist, Vance invested up to $65,000 in personal investments in AcreTrader, according to his 2022 financial disclosure to the Senate Ethics Committee.
Nalya Capital, the investment firm Vance launched in 2020 with support from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, is the vehicle for these investments and provided key support in the farmland startup’s early funding rounds. became a person.
And although Mr. Vance is no longer listed as a partner in Naruya Capital, according to his 2023 financial disclosure, he is still an investor in the company, or more specifically, in multiple entities, including Mr. Naruya. It seems like there is.
Mr. Vance’s most recent financial disclosure, dated August 2024, lists multiple companies named Nariya that generate dividends as the source of some of his wealth. Mr. Snopes is not aware of the investments held by these Naruya-named companies and cannot confirm his current level of investments.
In a September 2024 article, agricultural news outlet Civil Eats quoted Lisa Graves, director of the research firm, suggesting that Vance likely still held an investment in the company.
“There’s every indication that investment continues,” said Lisa Graves, executive director of research group True North Research. She points out how in 2023 Mr. Vance sold his shares in “Narya Capital Management LLC,” which was used to invest in AcreTrader (although the name is similar). It is not the same as an investment vehicle.
We reached out to Vance’s Senate office to ask about his current interest in AcreTrader. They forwarded us to the Trump campaign, which did not respond to a request for comment.
conclusion
Vance invested the money in AcreTrader, an app that sells real estate investment trust stocks. Although this process does not directly sell U.S. land to foreigners, it does allow foreigners to invest in companies that own U.S. farmland. Vance’s current level of investment in AcreTrader is unknown.
