From Backwoods to Boardrooms
From Backwoods to Boardrooms

Author: Daowei Zhang

Publisher:

Published: 2021-09-15

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9780870711428

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In the past 100-plus years, forestland ownerships have gone through two structural changes in the US and other parts of the world: the accumulation of industrial timberlands between 1900s and 1980s and the transformation of industrial timberlands to institutional ownerships afterwards. This book is about the history and economics of these two structural changes with the emphasis on the latter. The scale of both changes is unprecedented and truly revolutionary, impacting tens of millions of acres of private landholdings and billions of dollars of investment and affecting industrial structure, forest management and policy, research and development, community welfare, and forest sustainability. Looking though a historical count of key events, players, prevailing management philosophies, public policy, and institutional factors, the author of this book searches for an economic explanation and assesses the impact of these two changes. Its main contributions are three folds. First, it explains why industrial firms were able to profit from owning large areas of forest lands in the first place and how institutional investors could purchase these lands later. Many details of the history that could have otherwise been lost are revealed in this book for the first time. Second, it compares private and public equity timberland investments with respect to risk-adjusted returns as well as such other dimensions of interest to investors and forest managers including alignment of interests, capacity to exploit market inefficiencies, and their forest management and conservation records. Finally, it provides thoughtful commentary into the future of institutional timberland investments and global forest sustainability. This book is required reading for anyone interested in understanding the workings of the modern forest sector in the U.S. and elsewhere, forest investment, and forest sustainability.

Timberland Investments
Timberland Investments

Author: F. Christian Zinkhan

Publisher: Timber Press (OR)

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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Common stock. Corporate bonds. Stock mutual funds. Call and put options. Commercial and residential real estate. Municipal bonds. These and others are the alternatives many individual and institutional investors consider when constructing their investment portfolios. This is the first book to investigate how another investment alternative--timberland--can fit into the portfolios of individuals and such institutions as pension funds. Timberland supplies the basic raw material for a critical global industry--forest products. Timber can be managed economically as a renewable crop on hundreds of millions of acres in the United States. Given the forces supporting conservation of forests in their natural state on many public and some private lands in the Unites States and other nations, there is increasing pressure on the remaining privately owned forests to supply the needed timber output. This represents an opportunity for patient, long-term investors. Using insights and graphic examples supplied by experienced institutional investors, professional foresters, forestry and financial researchers, and others, the authors address such questions as the following: How do timberland's investment characteristics compare to those associated with other portfolio alternatives? In addition to direct investments in forests, in what other ways can investors participate in the timberland market? Can the addition of timberland to some investors' diversified portfolios improve overall performance? What personal financial planning goals can be served by timberland? What acquisition, forest management, and sale strategies can be adopted by individual and institutional investors so that objectives are better achieved? In the course of addressing such questions, the authors attempt to bridge the communications gap between the investment and forestry communities. The authors provide valuable perspectives not only for individual and institutional investors, but also for personal financial advisors; forestry practitioners, policymakers and researchers; and students of forestry, real estate, and investments.

Investing in Nature
Investing in Nature

Author: William Ginn

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2013-04-10

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1597267678

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In 2004, U.S. consumers spent $5.2 billion purchasing bottled water while the government only invested 5 percent of that amount to purchase critical watersheds, parks, and wildlife refuges-systems vital to clean water and healthy environments. How can we reverse the direction of such powerful economic forces? A group of dedicated business-people-turned-environmental-entrepreneurs is pioneering a new set of tools for land conservation deals and other market-based strategies. These pragmatic visionaries have already used these methods to protect millions of acres of land and to transform the practices of entire industries. They are transforming the very nature of conservation by making it profitable. Drawing on his vast experience in both business and land conservation at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), William Ginn offers a practical guide to these innovative methods and a road map to the most effective way to implement them. From conservation investment banking, to emerging markets for nature's goods and services, to new tax incentives that encourage companies to do the "right" thing, Ginn goes beyond the theories to present real-world applications and strategies. And, just as importantly, he looks at the lessons learned from what has not worked, including his own failed efforts in Papua New Guinea and TNC's controversial compatible development approach in Virginia. In an era of dwindling public resources and scarce charitable dollars, these tools reveal a new, and perhaps the only, pathway to achieving biodiversity goals and protecting our lands. Conservation professionals, students of land conservation, and entrepreneurs interested in green business will find Ginn's tales of high-finance deals involving vast tracts of pristine land both informative and exciting. More than just talk, Investing in Nature will teach you how to think big about land conservation.

Private Financing for Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Products in Developing Countries ? Trends and Drivers
Private Financing for Sustainable Forest Management and Forest Products in Developing Countries ? Trends and Drivers

Author: Tuukka Castren

Publisher:

Published: 2014-08-20

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 9780991040711

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How to finance sustainable forest management (SFM) has been a question of perennial interest and concern for the forestry community. It has been estimated that the required funding for SFM is in the order of US$70-160 billion per year globally. At present, official development assistance disbursements to forestry cover about 1 percent of the estimated total financing needs for SFM, and other available public sector financing sources barely double that amount. To scale up SFM, to create value-added economic growth and employment and protect forests from competing unsustainable land uses, domestic and foreign private financing and investments need to increase significantly.Despite the importance of the private sector, information on private forest financing is scarce and inadequate at all levels. Studies related to finance flows in the private sector have begun to emerge in recent years, and data of varying quality--especially on international private investments in wood processing--have become available in selected public statistics. However, there is no coordinated and systematic effort to collect and synthesize information on private investment flows in the forest sector. Also, none of the ad hoc studies have tried to provide a comprehensive, global picture of these flows. The objective of the study is to provide updated, comprehensive information to inform global dialogue on the role of private financing for SFM, including forest plantation development, and to the production of forest products. This report (i) reviews what private forest sector financing data are available, (ii) provides a snapshot of different financing flows in the forest sector, (iii) improves our understanding of challenges related to forest financing, and (iv) presents a roadmap for better information and improved access to finance. The scope of the report is forestry and forest industry investments in developing and emerging countries, with more focus on foreign direct investment than on domestic investments, mainly due to data constraints. The target audience includes the national governments in developing countries, donor agencies, international finance institutions with particular reference to the World Bank Group, other stakeholders of the United Nations Forum on Forests, and other forest finance practitioners.

Forests in a Market Economy
Forests in a Market Economy

Author: Erin O. Sills

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2003-07-31

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 9781402010286

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This book draws together contributions from forest economists in the Research Triangle of North Carolina, with co-authors from institutions around the world. It represents our common belief that rigorous empirical analysis in an economic framework can inform forest policy. We intend the book as a guide to the empirical methods that we have found most useful for addressing both traditional and modem areas of concern in forest policy, including timber production and markets, multiple use forestry, and valuation of non-market benefits. 'The book editors and most chapter authors are affiliated with three institutions in the Research Triangle: the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service (K. Abt, Butry, Holmes, Mercer, Moulton, Prestemon, Wear), the Department of Forestry at North Carolina State University (R. Abt, Ahn, Cubbage, Sills), and the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Program of Research Triangle Institute (Murray, Pattanayak). Two other Triangle institutions are also represented among the book authors: Duke University (Kramer) and the Forestland Group (Zinkhan). In addition to our primary affiliations, many of us are adjunct faculty and/or graduates of Triangle universities. Many of our co-authors also graduated from or were previously affiliated with Triangle institutions. Thus, the selection of topics, methods, and case studies reflects the work of this particular network of economists, and to some degree, our location in the southeastern United States. However, our work and the chapters encompass other regions of the United States and the world, including Latin America and Asia.

CAIA Level I
CAIA Level I

Author: CAIA Association

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2009-10-02

Total Pages: 779

ISBN-13: 0470557249

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Not to be used after March, 2012 Exams – CAIA Level I, 2nd Edition should be used to prepare for September 2012 Exam. The official study text for the Level I Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) exam The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation is the financial industry's first and only globally recognized program that prepares professionals to deal with the ever-growing field of alternative investments. The CAIA Level I: An Introduction to Core Topics in Alternative Investments contains all material on alternative investments that a potential Level I candidate would need to know as they prepare for the exam. The information found here will help you build a solid foundation in both traditional and alternative investment markets-for example, the range of statistics that are used to define investment performance as well as the many types of hedge fund strategies. It will also inform CAIA candidates on how to identify and describe aspects of financial markets, develop reasoning skills, and in some cases, make computations necessary to solve business problems. Contains "need to know" material for Level I candidates and for alternative investment specialists Addresses all of the unique attributes associated with the alternative investments space Organized with a study guide outline and learning objectives with key terms, available for free at www.caia.org/program/studyguides Focuses on alternative investments and quantitative techniques used by investment professionals This book is a must-have resource for anyone contemplating taking the CAIA Level I exam.

Forest Economics
Forest Economics

Author: Daowei Zhang

Publisher: UBC Press

Published: 2011-09-15

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 0774821558

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Forestry cannot be isolated from the forces that drive all economic activity. It involves using land, labour, and capital to produce goods and services from forests, while economics helps in understanding how this can be done in ways that will best meet the needs of people. Therefore, a firm grounding in economics is integral to sound forestry policies and practices. This book, a major revision and expansion of Peter H. Pearse’s 1990 classic, provides this grounding. Updated and enhanced with advanced empirical presentation of materials, it covers the basic economic principles and concepts and their application to modern forest management and policy issues. Forest Economics draws on the strengths of two of the field’s leading practitioners who have more than fifty years of combined experience in teaching forest economics in the United States and Canada. Its comprehensive and systematic analysis of forest issues makes it an indispensable resource for students and practitioners of forest management, natural resource conservation, and environmental studies.

Worldwide Asset and Liability Modeling
Worldwide Asset and Liability Modeling

Author: William T. Ziemba

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1998-11-12

Total Pages: 688

ISBN-13: 9780521571876

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The underlying theme of this volume is how to invest assets over time to achieve satisfactory returns subject to uncertainties, various constraints and liability commitments. Most investors, be they individuals or institutions, do not diversify properly across markets nor across time. The papers utilize several approaches and integrate a number of techniques as well as discussing a variety of models that have either been implemented, are close to being implemented, or represent new innovative approaches that may lead to future novel applications. Other issues address the future of asset-liability management modeling. This includes models for individuals, and various financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. This will lead to custom products, that is, financial engineering. All in all, this will be essential reading for all involved in analysing the financial markets.