So Bertie brought the IMF, now he’s in the IFF. Because trees don’t follow the markets, ya see.
by Kevin Tuohy on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 2:52pm
Our Recently Departed and Greatly Misunderstood Former Leader, Bertie Ahern, is now the Chairman of a private investment fund The International Forestry Fund, registered in the British Virgin Isles. They buy forestry, and have been linked with possible privatisation (i.e. selling off) of COILLTE. Makes sense – trees don’t read the papers, don’t get ‘crises of confidence’, and the longer you leave them, the more valuable they get.
Some extracts from their website: when you visit the site, it will pop up an acceptance window asking you to agree or disagree with its website policy before entering the site. Scroll down and ignore it
http://www.forestry-fund.com/
Press Release Helvetia Wealth AG, November 26, 2009
Dublin / Zurich: The International Forestry Fund – a joint venture of the I.F.S. Asset Managers Ltd and Helvetia Wealth AG of Switzerland – today announced that the former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will become Chairman of the fund as of January 1, 2010.
About
The International Forestry Fund is a global forestry fund which acquires land for plantation forestry and also acquires existing forests which it manages in a socially responsible manner to achieve a target growth rate of between 7% to 10% per annum.
Why Invest in Forestry?
- Global demand for timber continues to grow faster than supply can meet. And much of the world’s current timber supply comes from unsustainable sources such as South American Rainforests and tropical rainforests in South East Asia
- Forestry has a low correlation to equity markets and bonds especially when it is unleveraged
- Timber volume from cultivated plantations will need to increase to meet growing global demand for this completely renewable and basic raw material required throughout the world in a huge variety of industries from construction to energy, fencing to packaging, bio-fuel to furniture
- Plantation forests greatly reduce pressure on natural rainforests and protect millions of acres of previously threatened rainforest thus helping to reduce the effects of global warming
- Forests are also a major store of carbon as they sequester Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere, thus mitigating global warming and the effects of climate change
- Forestry investment provides stability and is largely immune to stock markets as well as providing an excellent hedge against inflation. As trees grow their timber volume and, therefore, value increases
- Trees grow at a highly predictable rate irrespective of economic conditions
And in the page for “Key People”:
Mr. Bertie Ahern has been appointed Chairman of The International Forestry Fund. Bertie Ahern is the first person since 1944 to be elected prime minister of Ireland on three successive occasions. Mr. Ahern implemented bold economic initiatives that included corporate tax incentives and education reform. His efforts laid out a welcome mat for international corporations, making Ireland an attractive location for foreign companies which drove job creation for over a decade. Known as a dedicated negotiator focused on the end result, Mr. Ahern brought divergent parties together in Ireland urging them to set aside centuries of conflict to create lasting peace.
Registered Offices:
Maples Corporate Services (BVI) Limited,
Kingston Chambers,
PO Box 173,
Road Town,
Tortola,
British Virgin Islands
