Invest in your future, then invest in your world.^TM

Finca Leola serves tree owners from many countries. We were asked by a reporter why they invested in trees, and this is what some of them said.

“I bought trees because I was interested in the environmental factor. An internet search on sustainable development is how I found Finca Leola. I also don't understand and never trusted the stock market. In hindsight, the tree purchase looks like a REALLY smart financial move too, but I can't claim credit for that.”

“First, I trust the person who recommended this investment. I know him to be trustworthy, and I know that when he investigates something of this nature, he is extremely thorough. I also knew that sooner or later the stock market was going to drop. Economies are too cyclical to have NOT seen the current situation coming. This is the only investment I have that didn't LOSE anything in 2008... had losses over 20% in some of my investments.”

“I have lived overseas for thirty years and have no intent in cashing in on social security...so work till 70+ was always the way forward. Why trees? I wanted something to kick in at 75 when I figured I would be in the mood to kick back. I like the idea of having the option to tap money from early cuts or just let the money roll into CD's. It’s painless, meets my requirements for sustainable eco concern, and I deal with swell people that have walked me through the tree game more than once. I'm thick, but quite pleased with the program.”

“I was looking for a long term investment with favorable returns that would provide environmental benefits. I also was interested in working with a company that had good management and commitment to the project.”  

“Based on the demand and market for the product combined with the environmental benefits, it made sense for us to invest in trees.”

“I first looked into buying trees through Fred and Amy because of their commitment to reforestation, which I think is very necessary for slowing global warming, but now with my other investments tanking, I think my trees may turn out to be the most profitable and safest investment I have.”

“I am a small business owner who wants to provide for my wife, children and grandchildren in the long term and hopes for a comfortable retirement. I purchased trees in 2006 and again in 2008. Given the massive future entitlement obligations of the federal government and the dysfunctional socialist trend currently in vogue in Washington, I don't like the long-term prospects for the dollar. Plantation grown trees are one component of an investment portfolio heavily weighted toward tangible assets including gold, silver, gold stocks and oil company stocks. I decided on Finca Leola after extensively touring the plantation, interviewing the owners, looking into future succession provisions and having had a disappointing experience elsewhere in Costa Rica with another plantation operation (firsthand knowledge of the good and bad in plantation grown trees).
“I like the idea of an investment that is literally ‘growing’ every year despite market conditions. I like the pro-environment aspect of reforestation. I understand that as the rain forests are depleted or restricted to logging, available tropical hardwoods will become much more scarce despite growing demand. I like the fact that these are growing assets located offshore without the complications of offshore accounts. A key component of the investment decision was the apparent integrity of the plantation owners, the apparent success of their efforts to date, and the expectation that they will honor their commitments and that they have an accurate and conservative estimate of future values (in which they themselves have a significant stake).”  

“Bought trees in 2008 after I visited plantations in Costa Rica firsthand. I wanted a ‘Green’ asset that would also be less correlated to stock market fluctuations.”

“I decided to own trees as another egg for the basket. Plus it was investing in something that wasn’t detrimental to the environment.”

“I bought 100 trees in April 2008 from Fred and Amy Morgan, owners of Finca Leola in Costa Rica. I am confident in them a) for their knowledge about growing high quality trees for the commercial value of the lumber b) for their passion for preserving and adding value to the local environment c) for their commitment to provide better than average employment for their native Costa Rican neighbors d) for the wise location of their tree farms in land that is rich in volcanic soils. Volcanic soils are mineral-rich and are excellent for growing plants. e) for their knowledge and diligence regarding their business model as a comprehensive, multiple-benefit package for everyone involved, directly or indirectly, and f) for their extensive website. After a full year I still have not read everything available on their website. Regardless of any negative realities of the economy, I am certain that my trees at Finca Leola are being well cared for. I am confident that they are growing in height and growing in financial value as they progress to maturity. They will sell the lumber after trees have been harvested and send the profits to me. I would invite anyone to carefully consider having Fred and Amy Morgan grow some high-quality tropical hardwood trees for them.”

“The current financial situation has shown that you need to think outside the stock market to be truly diversified.”

“Investing in trees has provided a new perspective in my portfolio. I realize they continue to grow larger, no matter what the stock market does. Additionally, it is a great thing to do for the earth!”

“We invested because we trusted the people running the reforestation project; investment diversity; and the long term success of wood prices.”

“I am a 31 year old investor in Finca Leola trees and I am very proud of it. I decided to invest in trees because I felt it was a safe way to build capital. Due to the constant fluctuation of the market I felt that investing in trees was a safe way to build equity. I also am happy to be investing in the production of trees. I love trees and I admire tree farmers/growers and I want to help them with their work. I have been very pleased with all aspects of working with Finca Leola.”

“The only investments I had were a house and mutual funds for my retirement. I thought trees were a cool investment and Finca Leola seemed to be the most legitimate and business savvy group that I had found.”

“Who knows anymore what the stock market will be like when I hope to retire in 15 years time. Recent past performance has been dismal. The fund managers have got it wrong and they will not be around to be held accountable. Even cash is not safe. So why not invest in a real commodity -- with real growth potential, with proven demand -- and kind to the environment ? Seems to me like there is nothing to lose.”

“My wife and I were attracted to make an investment in trees for several reasons. We were impressed that a strong case was made for good investment return with well managed farms to mitigate risk to a level we were comfortable with. We felt that with most of our resources in the stock market, commercial real estate, and our own business, trees were a fun and potentially valuable diversification. While we recognize the projections are based on assumptions which may or may not materialize, the stock market decline has made the tree investment seem perfectly tame in terms of risk. Finca Leola's socially enlightened goal of using one generation of trees for profit to finance a permanently reforested area was the concept that captured our participation.”

“We just returned from our visit to Costa Rica and couldn't believe how big our trees got. We will definitely add to our investment portfolio by purchasing more trees.”

“As a woodworker I'm aware of the unsustainable exploitation of tropical trees and the consequent real rise in prices over the last decade or so. As much as anything can be forecast, this increase is likely to continue into the medium term, if only because supply cannot increase while demand is unlikely to fall except in very short term periods. Secondly, if the trees happen to reach their anticipated age for felling during a period of economic weakness, it is not a great loss to delay harvesting since the increase in size of the trees during that period is likely to more than offset the interest costs of delay.
“What are the downsides/risks of investing in trees? Well, my money is tied up for a generation with very little return before the final harvest. Fire can wipe out the investment with no ability to insure against this as far as I know. [See the Risks page on this website.] There is limited ability to do a background check on the tree farm managers (not that investors in hedge funds seem to do any better in this respect!). In the end it comes down to diversification of my investments. Trees are a small, but growing, part of my portfolio. I hope to make a decent return on my investment but don't expect a killing. The knowledge that it is also benefiting the host country is a bonus but not the deciding factor.”

“Owning trees was my way to be part of the ‘green’ movement before it was the cool new thing. Payback for my carbon footprint in some small way. It is also part of how I stay diversified. The trees continue to grow regardless of who we have in the White House. I only wish I could invest in more trees short term.”

“I wanted an investment with a reasonably good return that also had a positive impact on renewable resources over a long term.”  

“I decided to invest in some trees because I wanted to do something ‘green.’ I live in the most wasteful society on earth and I thought I could do something on a personal level that would make a difference. I really don't consider it an investment in a monetary sense, though if I make (or save) some money, I will be happy. I plan on using most of the trees for my own home in Costa Rica. I sure wish I had some spare money, I'd get some more!”

“My wife and I bought trees because we like to think we are reasonably environmentally conscious and this was a way to put our money where our collective mouth was. I also liked it as a non-traditional investment, reflective of some ‘out of the box’ thinking.”

“I invested in reforestation because it is a wonderful concept. I firmly believe in protecting the environment and was elated to learn about a win-win situation. The reforestation projects enable one to invest in a fast declining natural resource that I believe will go up in value faster than the overall inflation rate and does an enormous amount of good for the environment.”

“I am investing in trees because of:
- superior ROI to southern pine
- positive ecological effect
- having visited the operation
- I believe management trustworthiness is on par with US foresters
- provides some diversification, although that is hard for me to measure”

“With some work we were able to find that investing in trees has a good ROI. It is not only the return starting in 4 yrs but the reforestation that happens, local employment and may other things that can't be measured.”

“I am considering converting part of my purchase toward retirement as well as making more purchases in the future for non-retirement investments. Reforestation is a profitable and yet environmentally sound investment.”

“Trees are a healthy sustainable investment when properly managed, a renewable resource, not subject to economic fluctuation; trees grow, call it inflation.”

“I like the idea that hundreds of our trees are doing their environmental part, contributing oxygen to the atmosphere, while, perhaps, adding value over the long haul to our investment portfolio.”

“I own a variety of trees including Teak, Mahogany, Rosewood-(Cocobola) and Acacia, totaling to 1700 trees purchased or under contract. I began purchasing timber in 2003 with 300 trees the first year, 200 the second year and 300 each subsequent year.
“I diverged from Teak to include Mahogany and Rosewood because on the world markets both woods have been hi-graded and have become environmentally guarded or endangered. There are people literally going into the Brazilian Rain forests digging out the stumps of trees that were cut 40 years ago to get the bits of usable wood that is left because that is all that is legal to go in and remove. Currently Mahogany is about 3 or 4 times the value of Teak, and Rosewood is about double (the value of teak). As more and more countries enforce the international environmental treaties and the raw forests have less and less poachable and salable wood, the legal wood -- that which is grown on plantations -- is going to radically gain in value. Trees are not like carrots -- you cannot put them in the ground in April and they are ready to harvest in July. It takes time, effort and care. And trees don't care if the stock market crashes, they just keep growing and gaining in value.
“Now here are the side benefits from investing in trees. You are helping to rebuild the rain forest. This is helping reverse global warming. This is providing nearly extinct animals habitats to live and regain a footing in the world. Each tree you purchase provides tons and tons of oxygen over its lifetime. These tree plantations (owners) in Costa Rica are also having to set aside a percentage of land and trees to permanent rain forest.
“Everybody wins. You make money, the plantation owners make money, the local community gets jobs, the animals get habitats, the earth gets healthier, the rain forest expands, and you have left a footprint on the earth that is meaningful. YOU have made a difference.
“Last but not least I am invested in more than one plantation in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a good solid country to invest in, with a solid democracy. It is politically stable.
“There are a lot of sham timber investments out there. There are a lot of companies that promise all kinds of crazy riches that simply are unreal. Do your research carefully before dropping your dollar. I fully and openly recommend Finca Leola S.A. Although they have not asked me to single them out, they have treated me exceptionally well.”

“I think that by investing in trees (and reverting the land to forest), you not only help save the planet, you really do get a good return on your money, and it's something concrete and easily understood that you can actually show people -- Hey, I'm investing in 100 trees, here's the picture of the field on the website -- and discuss what Finca Leola is going to do in the next 20-25 years.”

“In 2006 several financial analysts warned of economic downturn and I listened. I pulled back from aggressive stocks and in addition looked for some unique diversity. I majored in Natural Resources so I was curious about tree farms. I found Finca Leola and discovered that I could get a very good ROI and help the environment. I since have purchased trees in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Everybody wins and I gain the diversity I badly needed. I might still get to retire as planned after all.”

“When my husband and I returned from our holiday to Costa Rica, we wanted to give something back to a country so full of life and colour, to help in some small way if we could, and to feel as though we were doing our bit towards halting the decline in biodiversity and the ongoing deforestation; to keep it as we had seen it for others in the future. A grand ambition you may well think….
“My initial thought was to buy property or perhaps land, just to stop someone else buying it and building on it. Perhaps that was a mad idea and would never get off the ground but, nevertheless, I started looking for information. Would buying property just be contributing to the spiralling development that seems to be overtaking some areas, especially along the Pacific coast? If we never visited then what was the point? With only a few weeks holiday a year and a lot of places still on our list of must-sees, we wouldn’t realistically be back in Costa Rica for a good few years, however much we had fallen for the place.
“In a search for ideas, I came across Finca Leola. They replant land in Costa Rica that has been cleared for farming, ultimately returning it to forest. If you have visited Costa Rica you may remember seeing areas of cleared land where once there were trees. For me this brings memories of the road round Lake Arenal on the way to Monteverde, windy and open, rather than covered in forest.
“For less than £2,000 [in 2006] you can own 100 trees. The return on investment is excellent and you can be sure you are contributing to the reforestation of large areas of a beautiful country.
“One day I’ll go back to Costa Rica and visit my trees but for the moment I am safe in the knowledge that I am doing something I feel good about for a country I still count at the top of my list of places visited and, of course, making money for my future. A winning combination!”

“As an architect, I'm very interested in sustainability in design & construction, as well as doing what's right for the environment. I decided to drive a hybrid vehicle more for the reduced emissions aspect since the mileage isn't quite where it needs to be now & that's what started me thinking more about investments & ideas that played both to my future needs as well as doing the right thing along the way. I was drawn to the idea of investing in trees as a way to address that desire: developing a revenue stream down the road through a yearly program of tree purchases to drive a retirement income, as well as doing something to help reforestation today.”

“In my opinion finding a way to make investing in sustainable/organic (tree) farming/agriculture attractive and profitable is the way to go in order to restore the balance between the needs of the land and the people. So, since 2004 I have invested in that.”

“The reason I invested in trees in Costa Rica is diversification, both geographically as well as in terms of asset class and asset class correlation.”