Australia is home to the biggest horse-breeding industry in Asia. And it's now the season for one of the largest annual sales in the Southern Hemisphere, the Australian Easter yearling sale. The Easter extravaganza is the entry point into the horse business for many investors from around the region. Buyers from Hong Kong and Singapore often head to Australia because their markets lack a fully developed breeding industry. Regardless of the amount of money an investor is looking to spend, securing top-notch advice from bloodstock agents, as breeding experts are known, is crucial.
Agents charge either flat management fees or a commission.
Like anything connected with horses, there's no sure bet. There's a lot of luck involved with breeding horses and with getting them right. But there are ways to spread your risk. Shares in syndicated stallions, for example, are offered through a prospectus and can be transferred like the stock of other nonlisted entities, says Tony Fleiter, a licensed dealer with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission whose company, Sire Custodians, manages stallion syndicates. In part, that's because of the way stallions are priced.