Helvetia Wealth, the Swiss private banking and asset management firm, has recruited former three-time Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern to become chairman of its International Forestry Fund, a role which he will take up at the start of next year.

Helvetia’s International Forestry Fund enables clients to invest directly in forestry in Ireland, the UK and central America. Growing a mixture of tree species, the fund either buys existing forests or land which is then afforested. A key part of the fund’s strategy is that it will acquire the title to all properties, Helvetia said in a statement, adding that all lands and forestry will be independently assessed before purchase.

Another key element of the fund is that forests are acquired at different stages of their development. “The fund offers significant diversification by distributing the age of each forest, from bare agricultural land to semi-mature plantations, in order to provide consistent returns. We try to prevent distortions of land prices by investing continuously and on a long-term basis. This implies that we might limit subscription in any given period,” said Trevor McHugh, a director of the fund.

Mr McHugh is something of a veteran of forestry investment as he is a managing director of Dublin-based IFS Asset Managers, which in 1997 developed the concept of the Irish Forestry Funds, investing directly into Irish Forestry. According to Helvetia these funds have delivered an average return of 9 per cent over a 13-year track record.

The launch of the International Forestry Fund stems from the fact that the original Irish Forestry Funds could not accept further investments as suitable land for development in Ireland is finite, Mr McHugh said. With Helvetia’s engagement as fund manager it is hoped that international institutional investors will be attracted to forestry as an asset class.

The International Forestry Fund, which requires a minimum investment of €100,000 (around $150,000), is targeting annualised returns of between 7 and 10 per cent. The fund is open-ended with a five-year initial lock-up period, and carries a 1.5 per cent management fee and a 10 per cent performance fee over 10-year Euro Bond returns.