Kyle Bass Beefs Up Property Bets Targeting Scarce Resources (1)

Kyle Bass is spending much of his time these days on a very specific corner of the property market.

Over the past three years, the hedge fund veteran has been buying up land that holds scarce resources and environmentally fragile habitats. In that period, Conservation Equity Management — the private equity firm through which Bass makes the purchases — has allocated over $125 million to such deals. CEM says it’s targeting returns in the “mid-high teens” based on rising property values and money made selling environmental credits.

Now, Bass says there’s enough external investor demand to launch a second venture ...