Forests are long-term assets, and sit well within the demographic profile of many superannuation funds or insurance companies. For example, for a superannuation fund with an overabundance of members ranging from ages 40 to 50, one would expect high demands for retirement income in 15 to 25 years. Forestry is one of the few alternative assets that can be bought and held for this length of time.

Forests have had a negative correlation in the year-to-year variation in their returns with other major asset classes such as listed stocks, corporate bonds, and property.  At the same time, forestry assets have been positively correlated with inflation. Therefore, investors could find that the overall volatility of their portfolio would be reduced by the addition of forestry assets.  Assets that tend to increase in value when markets fall, including gold, oil futures, and some types of hedge funds, are characterised as defensive.  The difference between these and forestry, however, is that the performance of forestry assets is not market driven, and so is much less volatile over long periods of time than other commodities.

Overall, forestry investment attributes should make it a staple in any portfolio that is being managed for investors who have long-term, value orientations within balanced portfolios. This includes investments managed on behalf of:

• Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (e.g. superannuation funds)
• Defined Contribution Pension Schemes (which have now all but replaced final
   salary schemes)
• Individual retirement account owners such as SIPPs)
• University savings plan participants
• University endowments
• Charitable foundations
• Diversified Personal Investment Portfolios