Sustainable investing in timberland
Learn how our long track record in sustainable timberland investing has refined our ability to manage risks and opportunities.
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Manulife Forest Climate Fund (MFCF)
The fund provides investors with an opportunity to own a globally diversified portfolio of forestry assets in one investment partnership vehicle for the primary purposes of sequestering carbon, ensuring long-term protection of sensitive habitats, creating environmental and social impact through non-timber activities, and seeking to provide attractive risk-adjusted financial returns.
Why carbon-focused timberland?
Forests are a top natural climate solution, and the growing use of forestland as a climate change mitigation tool has added new dimensions to timberland investment. These viable, scalable, and investable natural climate solutions are increasingly supported by rapid increases in corporate and investor net zero commitments, leading to new opportunities to manage forests for carbon value in addition to timber value.
Carbon-focused timberland strategies invest in forest assets for the primary purpose of sequestering carbon while ensuring long-term protection of sensitive habitats, delivering additional environmental and social impact through non-timber activities, engaging in sustainable timber management, and seeking to provide risk-adjusted financial returns.
Opportunities for climate impact
Forests and farmland are increasingly recognized as economic and scalable natural climate solutions.
Why invest in MFCF?
The fund seeks to deliver durable, high-quality carbon value to investors and annual optionality for in-kind carbon credit distributions or offset sales, providing the opportunity to promote climate change mitigation through a globally diversified portfolio of sustainably managed forestland assets where carbon sequestration is prioritized over timber production.
Focused on global diversified sustainable forestry investments and carbon value
Long-term source of high-integrity carbon sequestration
Target current investment income with potential for long-term appreciation
Carbon optionality through insets or offset sales
Strong commitment to sustainability
Protection for working forests
Ability to leverage decades of experience in timberland and carbon management
Fund snapshot
| Investment objectives |
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| Leverage | Max 20% of gross asset value (plus unfunded commitments) in aggregate, including any feeder funds or parallel funds | |
| Fund term | 12 years, plus one 1-year extension at general partner (GP) discretion, plus one 2-year extension with majority limited partner (LP) approval | |
| Investment period | Three years from the date of the final closing (subject to an extension at the sole discretion of the GP, but not later than the fourth anniversary of the final closing) | |
| Property management services | To be provided by subsidiaries of Manulife Investment Management and/or unrelated third parties consistent with Manulife Investment Management's current practices | |
| Target impact and sustainability |
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What sets us apart
As the world’s largest natural capital investment manager,¹ Manulife Investment Management's experience, size, and scale allow us to access a wider array of markets with reduced operating risk. We're well positioned to accelerate the use of nature-based solutions in the fight against climate change. For nearly four decades, we’ve been building and sustainably managing globally diversified timberland portfolios for the benefit of investors which we can believe can contribute to health of the environment and local communities.
Strategic management
We’re enhancing the management of our forests for climate- and nature-positive outcomes to offer our investors opportunities to make an even greater impact.
Carbon expertise
We have expertise in carbon strategies across our economic research, valuation, operations, and asset management teams, combined with in-depth experience in compliance and voluntary markets.
Positive impact
Impact is central to our investment thesis, and third-party certifications and our carbon principles offer assurance of high-quality carbon sequestration and credits aligned with global best practices.
Important disclosures
1 IPE research, as of February 5, 2023. Ranking is based on total natural capital assets under management (AUM), which include forestry/timberland and agriculture/farmland AUM. Firms were asked to provide AUM, and the as of dates vary from December 31, 2021, to December 31, 2022.
Acquiring a forest in Maine for carbon sequestration
Read our case study about our 89,000-acre carbon-first timberland investment.
Measuring our impact
We manage the assets under our care to ensure their optimal health because it’s the right thing to do—and because it’s good business. Our fully integrated property management reduces costs, enhances alignment of interests, and ensures that our commitment to sustainability carries through from development to execution of the investment strategy.
Read about our approach to sustainability
Nearly 1.8 million metric tons of C02 removed annually
over the past five years through our managed forests and farms
Nearly 2.6 million metric tons of C02 stored
in wood products harvested in 2022
Nearly 6.1 million metric tons of forest carbon credits sold
by our timberland management group since 1985
More than 1.3 billion trees planted
by our timberland management group since 1985
Important disclosures
Source: Manulife Investment Management. All data is as of December 31, 2022. Please refer to the 2022 timberland and agriculture sustainable investing reports for details.
We work with leading third-party carbon registries, sustainability certifications, research centers, and nonprofits to ensure environmental and social benefits across our timberland assets.
Important disclosures
All logos are registered trademarks of the respective organizations/firms represented. Manulife Investment Management is prompting each of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) actions shown through becoming a member of the respective programs or a partner with the organizations on these endeavors.
Related viewpoints
October 24, 2022
Carbon credit use is reshaping timberland investments
Carbon markets are entering a period of accelerated evolution, requiring the incorporation of carbon values.
September 9, 2022
The changing nature of the carbon market
Carbon-focused investors in both the timberland and agriculture markets have increasing opportunities to meet both their financial and sustainability goals, say Manulife Investment Management’s Eric Cooperström and Thomas Sarno.
June 10, 2022
U.S. timberland returns deliver
U.S. timberland returns deliver above historical average income and appreciation gains to institutional investors in 2021.
Contact us
Michael Strzelecki, CFA
Managing Director, Timberland Investor Relations
Manulife Investment Management
T 617-747-1501
E mstrzelecki@manulife.com
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Important disclosures
This content describes Manulife Forest Climate Fund LP (the Fund), a Delaware limited partnership in formation. The information is for information use only. This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, including any interest in the Fund. Interests in the Fund are being offered solely on the terms of the Fund’s Confidential Private Placement Memorandum (the Offering Memorandum) and related Subscription Documents, as they may be amended and supplemented from time to time. Prospective investors in the Fund should carefully review the Offering Memorandum and related Subscription Documents. No investor should rely on this presentation as the basis for making any investment decision.
Manulife Investment Management Timberland and Agriculture Inc (“MIMTA”) is the investment advisor of the Fund. MIMTA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment advisor. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation (“Manulife”) and is affiliated with several U.S. based and non-U.S. based investment advisers which are also subsidiaries or affiliates of Manulife. MIMTA has prepared this webpage and it is intended for institutional and professional investors only. Recipients should carefully read and evaluate the risks outlined in the Fund’s Memorandum.
Any general discussions or opinions contained within this presentation regarding securities or market conditions represent the view of either the source cited or MIMTA as of the date indicated and are based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons. The information and/or analysis have been compiled or arrived at from sources believed to be reliable but MIMTA does not make any representation as to their accuracy, correctness, usefulness or completeness and does not accept liability for any loss arising from the use hereof or the information and/or analysis contained herein. Information about a portfolio’s holdings, asset allocation, or country diversification is historical and will be subject to future change. The Fund is intended to complement other types of investments and is not intended to serve as an investor’s only investment. Neither MIMTA or its affiliates, nor any of their directors, officers or employees shall assume any liability or responsibility for any direct or indirect loss or damage or any other consequence of any person acting or not acting in reliance on the information contained herein.
Nothing in this constitutes investment, legal, accounting, tax or other advice, or a representation that any investment or strategy is suitable or appropriate to any prospective individual investor’s circumstances, or otherwise constitutes a personal recommendation to a prospective investor. Prospective investors should take appropriate professional advice before making any investment decision.
The distribution of the information contained in this presentation may be restricted by law and persons who access it are required to comply with any such restrictions. The contents of this presentation are not intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity in any jurisdiction or country where such distribution or use would be contrary to any applicable laws or regulations. Each recipient confirms that it is aware of the laws in its own jurisdiction relating to the purchase and sale of the interests in the Fund discussed and each recipient warrants and represents that it will not pass on or utilize the information contained in the webpage in a manner that could constitute a breach of such laws by any Manulife entity or any other person.
This webpage has not been reviewed by, is not registered with any securities or other regulatory authority, and may, where appropriate, be distributed by the following entities.
United States: John Hancock Investment Management Distributors, LLC, Member FINRA, SIPC, Listed MSRB.
No entity makes any representation that the contents of this presentation are appropriate for use in all locations, or that the transactions, securities, products, instruments or services discussed in this presentation are available or appropriate for sale or use in all jurisdictions or countries, or by all investors or counterparties. All recipients of this presentation are responsible for compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Third-Party Certifications
Any third-party certification is as of the date presented and Manulife has not separately verified the information underlying any such certification. Neither Manulife nor its affiliates compensated any such third-party for such certification, other than the third-party’s standard fees, such as program fees and audit costs. Payment of those fees is no guarantee of certification. Certification by the third-party does not reflect any endorsement by that third-party to invest in the Fund. None of the certifying entities references herein endorses Manulife Investment Management or the Fund or recommends any investment in the Fund.
Carbon Case Studies
The carbon case study projects identified and described herein were chosen based on investment strategy and do not represent all projects managed by Manulife IM. The projects described represent carbon investment projects currently under management in the United States as of the first quarter of 2022. The Fund is not expected to invest in any of these carbon projects and these projects may or may not be representative of any projects of the Fund. There is no guarantee that these are, or that these or any similar projects that the Fund invests in will be, profitable or will produce comparable carbon credit sales. Carbon credits from these projects may also be subject to reversal or invalidation. Carbon case studies are for illustrative purposes only.
Risk Factors
Investments in the Fund’s strategy include a number of risks and limitations, including but not limited to the risk of loss. Forestry investments involve a number of significant risks, any one of which could cause the Fund and investors in the Fund to lose all or part of the value of their investment.
Carbon credits are an emerging and evolving asset class, and thus the regulatory and taxation rules and valuation standards that apply to them and forestland held primarily for the generation of carbon credits are also emerging and evolving. Valuing Forestry Investments and related assets is subject to uncertainties and there is no guarantee that values determined by Manulife IM or its affiliates will represent the value that could be obtained for an asset if it were then disposed of in a market sale or when it is ultimately disposed of. The long-term demand for carbon credits is also uncertain, as demand is driven by political and social commitments to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which goals may change or may be superseded by newer or more cost-efficient technologies.
There can be no guarantee that there will be a sufficient number of suitable investments available to the Fund to permit it to execute on the Fund’s strategy. For example, the Fund will compete with other forestland purchasers in acquiring investments. Because the Fund is prioritizing the generation of carbon credits over commercial timber production, the Fund may not be able to offer pricing for a property that is competitive with an offer from a timber production-only buyer. Once the Fund has acquired a property, there can be no assurance as to whether it will be successful in implementing carbon projects on the property or in generating carbon credits for sale or distribution in kind to the partners. The development of a carbon project is a complex and lengthy process and subject to independent verification procedures. Even if the Fund is able to generate carbon credits from carbon projects on its property, the ability of the Fund to distribute them in kind may also be limited due to a number of factors beyond its control, including the requirements of the registries on which the carbon credits are registered or regulatory restrictions or burdensome requirements with respect to the transfer of carbon credits.
Forestland is also subject to damage from fire, flood, wind, drought, insects, disease, storms and/or natural disasters and poor soil productivity that could result in loss or damage to the forests or negatively impact future carbon sequestration and/or productivity. The Fund may also be subject to environmental liabilities related to its forestlands. A portion of the Fund’s strategy will include commercial timberland production. The markets for timberland products are global in nature, very competitive and impacted by numerous factors.
For a more complete description of the risks, please refer to the Fund’s Offering Memorandum, as amended, restated, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time.
Information about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Considerations
ESG Integration is the systematic inclusion of financially material ESG issues in investment analysis and investment decisions. We look to incorporate material ESG considerations throughout the stages of our investment and asset ownership lifecycles, taking into account the characteristics of the asset class and investment process in question, as well as industry and geography, among other factors. Each investment team operates in different markets and with different nuances to its approach to investing. Accordingly, each team integrates ESG factors into its investment process in a manner that best aligns with its investment approach. ESG is only one of many considerations that Manulife Investment Management takes into account when making investment decisions, and other considerations can be expected in certain circumstances to outweigh ESG considerations. While ESG analysis is integrated into our investment process the strategy is not optimized or constructed on the basis of sustainability or ESG factors in isolation. There is no guarantee that the evaluation of ESG characteristics will be additive to a strategy's performance. ESG is not a uniformly-defined characteristic and information used to evaluate ESG characteristics may not be readily available, complete, or accurate, and may vary across providers and issuers. Because of the subjective nature of ESG integration, there can be no guarantee that ESG factors considered will reflect the beliefs or values of any particular client. Unless otherwise noted, any references in this presentation to ESG or sustainability reflect the general approach of Manulife Investment Management to integrating sustainability risk considerations into our investment decision-making processes. Further details on Manulife Investment Management’s general approach to sustainability are available at www.manulifeim.com/institutional/global/en/sustainability.
Interested in learning more about the Manulife Forest Climate Fund?
The fund seeks to deliver durable, high-quality carbon value and optionality for in-kind carbon credit distributions or offset sales, providing an opportunity to promote climate change mitigation through a globally diversified timberland portfolio where carbon sequestration is prioritized over timber production. To learn more, please fill out the form below.
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