International forestry investment manager New Forests announced the extension of its flagship forestry fund, the Australia New Zealand Forest Fund (ANZFF). Originally launched in 2010 as a 10-year, closed-end fund, ANZFF was converted into an extended long-term vehicle by agreement of the institutional investors in the fund. The extension includes a series of 12-year renewals, commencing 1 July 2020.
New Forests’ Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, Mark Rogers, explained, “Over the past several years, we have worked closely with our ANZFF clients to develop an approach that enables them to continue to hold high-quality forestry and forestry-related assets for the long term, benefiting from cash yield and attractive markets. The structure we have developed lets New Forests work on our investors’ behalf to drive value into the future.”
The ANZFF portfolio includes extensive, high-quality eucalyptus and pine plantations across Australia as well as the Timberlink wood products manufacturing and timber distribution business. With a mature asset base, New Forests anticipates that ANZFF will generate ongoing cash yield from timber harvest and wood products sales as well as preserving and creating long-term value through managing biological growth and land assets for strong, stable total returns.
The ANZFF estate includes approximately 283,000 gross hectares of land area, with around 195,000 hectares net planted area, and approximately 20,000 hectares dedicated to conservation management. The portfolio generates approximately 4 million m3 of timber harvest each year and provides nearly 1,500 jobs. All forestry areas are certified under the Forest Stewardship Council® and Responsible Wood® systems, providing third-party assurance of responsible forest management. New Forests’ approach to asset management includes working with qualified local forest management businesses for on-ground operations, strengthening and diversifying market exposures and access, and emphasising rigorous and responsible investment management practices.
The ANZFF investors include pension funds, reinsurance companies, and sovereign wealth fund clients. Under the extended mandate, the ANZFF portfolio will be managed for long-term opportunities in a rising bioeconomy, focussed on helping to address the challenge of climate change and the supply of renewable resources.
New Forests is a sustainable real assets manager offering leading-edge strategies in responsible forestry with approximately 5.6 billion in AUM across a global portfolio of nearly 1 million hectares of forestry and conservation investments.
Photo : Mark Rogers – New Forests’ Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand,
