30
FINDINGSANDANALYSIS
SECTOR GROWTH
INVESTMENT LOCATIONS
(1996 - 2013)
(2014)
Number of Investments
0
20
10
1996 2002 2004
40
30
60
50
70
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
LAUNCH YEARS
TREE SPECIES
(1996 - 2013)
(2014)
2013
2012
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2011
2004
1998
1996
8
1
1
2
2
1
5
5
9
21
3
DIRECTLY HELD
There are 58 directly held forestry
investments included on the investment
register from 24 separate providers. All
of these investments class themselves
as unregulated and are being openly
marketed to retail investors.
This sector has experienced periods
of rapid growth with a number of new
investment launches, most notably 2007
when the sector grew by 83%, 2009 by 75%
and 2011 by 81%.
#1 LAUNCH YEARS
The first forestry investment included on
the register launched in 1996 and this has
since sold out, it is not known whether this
investment was successful or has paid any
investor returns. 2007 saw the first peak in
investment launches with 5 new products
coming to the market. The number of retail
investment opportunities available in the
forestry sector has increased substantially
since the 2008 financial crisis with 46
investment launches over the last 5 years.
2009 and 2011 experienced the highest
number of new investments being launched
to the retail market with 9 and 21 respectively.
#2 TREE SPECIES
When considering a directly held forestry
investment investors can choose from
9 different species of tree. This covers
hardwood, softwood and grass which
each have different advantages and
disadvantages as discussed earlier in the
report. Teak accounts for just over 30% of the
products available, followed by Agarwood
with 14% and Paulownia with 12%.
Investors can also choose less well-known
tree species such as Neem and Melina
which only have a very small number of
investments in the market. These tree
species could present the potential for
higher returns, but are likely to be even
more niche and therefore potentially even
higher risk investments.
#3 LOCATION
Location is an important consideration for
investors. The vast majority of forestry
investments are located in exotic locations
with cheap land and native fast growing
trees. But this isn’t always the case, with
GERMANY
THAILAND
BRAZIL
COLOMBIA
COSTARICA
FIJI
GHANA
PANAMA
CONGO
COSTARICA&ARGENTINA
MALAYSIA
SRI LANKA
NICARAGUA
9% Bamboo
14% Agarwood
10% Acacia
7% Eucalyptus
5% Melina
2% Neem
12% Paulowni
10% Robinia
31% Teak
