FRA Welcomes New Sharia-compliant Forestry Fund

Online, July 27, 2012 (Newswire.com) - A new Sharia-compliant forestry fund has been launched by Sustainable Capital, and is being welcomed by Forestry Research Associates.

The fund, which is hoping to raise some $100 million in investments, largely from Muslim investors, will invest in a range of areas, including the forestry sector, agriculture and biomass. Although sustainable investment has traditionally been seen as a competing asset class with many sharia-compliant funds, FRA explains that Sustainable Capital is hoping to combine the two for a new approach to sharia-compliant investment.

"Countries are now embracing diversification," explained the fund's investment adviser, Michael Young. He explained that funds that wanted to be compliant to sharia restrictions have, in the past, played safe with more obvious and traditional investments such as real estate and hedge funds. "However, with a growing appetite for even more 'alternative alternatives', Sustainable Capital is hoping that it will attract plenty of interest in the forestry fund," stated FRA's analysis partner, Peter Collins.

FRA is a research and analysis consultancy advocating investing in all kinds of forestry funds and direct investment schemes. Timberland has become a popular alternative investment option for investors all over the world as it offers strong potential for diversification, explained FRA. Mr Collins added, "The demand for timber is growing alongside the world's emerging economies and this is great news for those who have bought trees and forestry land."

Forestry funds sometimes take the form of a regular fund, such as this Sustainable Capital fund, and sometimes take the form of direct investment. Anyone can buy up a section of timberland, but will usually need a large initial investment to do so. However, through firms like Greenwood Management, who take investments from as little as $10,000, many people can afford to reap the benefits of direct forestry investment and will also start to see returns much sooner.