Investing in trees is a truly unique experience!
Not only because it makes our planet greener but also because of its incomparable stability and profitability. Trees can grow during any financial crisis, which allows us to save accumulated profit and continue earning additional funds. Our Trees are the ideal investment for people who would like to “save and earn in a sustainable way”.
Let’s explain this in detail.
Unlike goods such as oil and gold, trees are not typically associated with investment opportunities despite their stability and attractive profit. This failure to consider lumber arose because historically, owning large plots of land and planting trees was very costly and profits were only expected in the distant future. Logistically, a global lumber market was also impossible, so timber was only sold locally and priced depending on demand in towns or villages.
Currently, the international timber/lumber market is growing, and investing in trees can yield high profits more quickly than ever before. This shortening of the investment period is mainly due to the introduction of new tree species and better-growing conditions. Now, with Smart Forest, the costs of a plantation for an investor have also decreased.
When plotted against top securities, investment in timber performs better in the long run making it a smart investment choice. Timber also can perform better than US Bonds, Global Equities, and Equities of Emerging Markets (especially during crisis times), as shown below. Not only are trees a stable investment, but they are a hard asset, and investment profit grows as the trees grow.
Please keep in mind that all trees grow differently depending on their species and climate. At Smart Forest, we focus on fast-growing species that thrive in mild climates. More specific information about the expected return on investment, pricing, and individual tree characteristics can be found under the trees portion of our website.
At Smart Forest, we guarantee that the tree you purchase will be planted and that the profit will be shared. We also provide agricultural insurance. However, we cannot guarantee the exact performance of each individual tree, although we are provided with expected results from our planting partners. Smart Forest is not a financial institution and we caution that this is a high-risk investment.
At first glance, “save” and “earn” may appear synonymous. However, investors may have entirely different reasons for wanting to save already accumulated capital or wanting to make a new profit. There are also different risks involved. Investing in timber is a perfect way to diversify an investment portfolio, as it has a minimal potential loss in value. Forestry assets are valuable to keep in a portfolio as they are more stable than other assets that are of a higher risk to decrease in value. Many banks and financial institutions keep forestry assets in their portfolio, to have something that will keep them afloat if any of their other higher-risk assets decrease in value.
In our daily life, we do not notice the process called inflation. Inflation decreases purchasing power by an estimated per cent. It is very difficult to measure inflation but according to the national banks, the global inflation between 2009- 2020 reached 3.45%.
You can see this loss of purchasing power in the example of apples below.
Having forestry assets preserves money above the inflation rate, as the price of timber grows more quickly than the inflation rate.
Sustainability and finances have something in common, both tackle our future. But as it is sometimes indecent to talk about finances, sustainability is filling the front pages of newspapers, billboards, and TV channels all over the world. Many companies hire specialists from CSR, create yearly reports, change packages to be environmentally friendly, and even greenwash their marketing campaigns. Greenwashing occurs when the company pretends to be “greener” than it is. This greenwashing is frequently occurring, as CSR activities are often viewed as a waste of money since they typically do not directly impact sales.
But this negative view of sustainability is a fundamental error. At Smart Forest, we prove that being sustainable can bring very concrete profits. We already showed you the financial benefits from investing in trees, we would now like to highlight the other no less important benefits.
Smart Forest supports:
SDG number 8 - DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
SDG number 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth. Smart Forest seeks to democratize forest investment and popularize trees as a stable investment asset. But to be a truly accessible asset for anyone it has to be also affordable. This is why we decreased the costs of hectares for each tree. Even investors with a very small investment wallet can buy one tree per month and protect their financial future over the long term. As a non-speculative asset, trees can protect an investor’s capital during turbulent times.
We also contribute to UN SDG number 8 by cooperating mainly with local, family-owned companies. Planting and maintaining the trees not only provide our planters with decent pay but also gives them an opportunity to do what they really love.
SDG number 15 - LIFE ON LAND
Smart Forest also contributes to sustainable development goal number 15 - Life on Land. By increasing the number of planted trees, we support the ecology in a most natural and neutral way. Trees clean the air and purify the water. They help with flood management and prevent soil erosion. It is also worth highlighting our contribution to preserving biodiversity. 1 hectare of Smart Forest plantations can produce the same amount of wood for the lumber industry as 30 hectares of natural forest can. Using timber from the Smart Plantation helps preserve natural forests, and leaves unique ecosystems, containing thousands of species, untouched.
Also, using timber is “environmentally friendly”, unlike for example using plastic. By increasing the production of timber, we in turn increase the production of biodegradable materials.
SDG number 13 - CLIMATE ACTION
Trees capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their leaves, roots, branches, trunks, soil, and woody debris. Planting trees is currently one of the best possible ways to capture CO2 and neutralize the carbon footprint. The amount of carbon-capturing depends on the tree’s growth phase - young trees use more carbon as their growth is more rapid.