Sydney-based investment manager New Forests raised A$450 million ($296 million) in its first close of the Australia New Zealand Landscapes and Forestry Fund from institutional investors including Swedish pension fund AP2, Stockholm, and German pension fund Bayerische Versorgungskammer, Munich, the firm said in a statement on Dec. 20.
The Clean Energy Finance Corp., which manages A$30 billion in transition assets on behalf of the Australian government also committed to the fund, along with an Australian and a German insurer, the statement said.
The CEFC committed A$75 million to the fund, it said in a separate statement. However, the size of commitments from the other investors was not made public.
An AP2 spokesperson confirmed that the fund had made the commitment but declined to provide how much.
AP2, which has more than 400 billion Swedish Kronor ($38.2 billion) in assets, first invested with New Forests in 2010, and has identified timberland as an asset class that provides diversification and stable, long-term returns while contributing to sustainability goals.
The pension fund has 1.9% of its total assets invested in timberland, of which 66% in the U.S., 18% in Australia, 7% in New Zealand, and the remaining 9% in other countries including Uruguay and Brazil, according to its 2022 sustainability report.
BVK, Germany's largest public pension group, manages €106.8 billion ($114.9 billion) in assets. The commitment is a renewal of an earlier partnership with New Forests, Kathrin Kalau-Reus, head of private equity in infrastructure and timber at BVK, said in the statement. Spokespeople at BVK did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
"Being a longstanding investor in the forestry sector, the asset class contributes to environmental sustainability by supporting responsible land management and afforestation initiatives," Kalau-Reus said in the statement.