Eco Gestão de Ativos

Eco Gestão de Ativos Ltda. is the management arm of Grupo Ecoagro, founded in 2007 by Moacir Ferreira Teixeira, an economist with nearly four decades of experience in the financial market and a pioneer in creating agricultural credit instruments in Brazil — including the first Agribusiness Credit Letter (LCA) and the country's first CRA. The asset manager was formalized in 2010 and operates alongside Eco Securitizadora (Brazil's largest CRA issuer, with over R$ 85 billion issued) and Eco Consult. The group currently manages around R$ 8 billion in funds exclusively focused on agribusiness, distributed across seven products: five FIDCs, one FIM, and EGAF11, the firm's only Fiagro accessible to retail investors.

Track record and governance

Ecoagro's track record is rare: since the first public issuance of a CRA in 2009, the firm has accumulated over R$ 85 billion in securitizations without any public episode of significant default in its proprietary portfolios. The management front for EGAF11 is led by Bruno Lund (director of Eco Gestão de Ativos, winner of the 2010 Anbima Fixed Income Award, Ph.D. in Economics from EPGE/FGV with an extension at the Booth School, U. Chicago) and by André Higashino (Risk and Compliance Director). Co-management is provided by Multiplica Capital, represented by director Utcho Levorin, who has over 40 years of market experience. Administration, custody, and bookkeeping are handled by Vórtx DTVM and auditing by Next Auditores Independentes. The credit process adopts unanimous deliberation in the investment committee, a proprietary rating model, and field analysis (crop season, contracts, production history) — attributes common in niche institutional houses, but rare in retail asset managers. There are no records of penalties or relevant CVM investigations against the asset manager.

Strategy and funds under management

Eco Gestão de Ativos operates with a 100% focus on agricultural credit. The firm's FIDCs serve institutional investors; EGAF11 is the only public window. The fund's strategy concentrates 88% of its NAV in the input chain (fertilizer, pesticide, and seed distributors), deliberately avoiding direct exposure to the rural producer — the most volatile link in agriculture. The portfolio allocated 39 assets (37 CRAs + 2 FIDCs) at the close of March 2026, with an NAV of R$ 310 million and 12,942 unitholders. The net return target for individuals is CDI+4% p.a.; the realized DY over the past 12 months was 19.0% over the price (tax-exempt for individuals). The fund uses leverage via reverse repo agreements (portfolio at 108.8% of NAV, funding of ~R$ 30M), a typical resource to improve carry without stepping out of the risk profile — but which adds liquidity risk in stress scenarios. The portfolio's average issuance spread is CDI+5.03%, above the target, indicating a positive margin before costs. The Ecoagro + Multiplica co-management covers origination/structuring and active portfolio management, respectively — a vertical combination that reduces reliance on third parties for credit analysis.

Strengths and points of attention

• Pioneering spirit and technical depth: the country's largest agricultural securitization firm, creator of the first CRA, the first Green CRA (R$ 1 bn, 2018), and the first dollar-denominated CRA (2022). Access to structured agri-credit deal flow is difficult to replicate.
• Reported zero default: throughout EGAF11's history up to March 2026, the portfolio has not registered a single credit event. Subordination of 20-50% in senior tranches and fiduciary assignment of receivables (100-150% ratio) reinforce the cushion.
• Senior team and rigorous process: unanimous deliberation committee, proprietary rating model, field analysis — unusual attributes in the retail Fiagro segment.
• High cost: a fee of 1.2% p.a. + 10% performance fee over CDI+1% penalizes performance in scenarios of high CDI rates, when the benchmark share price rises faster.
• Fund AUM small relative to the group's size: R$ 310 million in a group with R$ 8 bn under management suggests EGAF11 is a secondary product; the firm's primary focus may lie in institutional FIDCs.
• Leverage via reverse repo: useful for carry, but introduces mismatch risk in market stress scenarios and requires continuous monitoring.

Which investor is this suitable for

EGAF11 and Eco Gestão de Ativos are most suitable for individual investors who want tax-exempt exposure to agricultural credit with a proven management process, accept moderate exchange liquidity (average daily volume still limited given the small NAV), and understand that part of the high DY comes from leverage and a high interest rate cycle — which may compress payouts when the CDI falls. Those seeking share price growth or a fund in an aggressive expansion phase will be frustrated: the house is conservative by culture. The main point of attention to monitor is portfolio quality in the event of a crop failure or input crisis in the distribution chain — a rare event, but the sole vector capable of undoing the zero-default history.