Third Irish forestry fund.

paris24 · 15-07-2019 8:42am

No word here from them either. Its all very shady.... I dont understand how they cant tell you before the cheques are released what the share value is. Does anyone have a clue what the return might be?

Neira · 15-07-2019 11:05am

Unfortunately as a participant of the IFF we are not shareholders

Harry Palmr · 15-07-2019 2:16pm

I have a pieced of paper in my hand -

Cheques will be issued on August 16th, the delay is due to a large number of shareholders having not updated their contact details. Given there is about 22 years since the first shares were bought that's fairly understandable. People tend to forget this sort of thing or keep putting it off.

ForFsSake · 16-07-2019 3:00pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

I have a pieced of paper in my hand -

Cheques will be issued on August 16th, the delay is due to a large number of shareholders having not updated their contact details. Given there is about 22 years since the first shares were bought that's fairly understandable. People tend to forget this sort of thing or keep putting it off.

Harry - Thanks for the update. I haven't had a letter myself but maybe its on the way. Or maybe they have decided not to write out and just wing it until August. Agree there probably is a large group of shareholders contacting them with changes but that was foreseeable in May when they said payment in July. They could at least update their website as the home page still states

"THE DEADLINE FOR CHANGES AND ALTERATIONS TO THE SHARE REGISTERS FOR THE IRISH FORESTRY FUNDS IS 12 NOON THIS FRIDAY 31ST MAY 2019 IN PREPARATION FOR THE ISSUING OF DISTRIBUTIONS IN JULY. PLEASE ENSURE THAT ANY ADDRESS CHANGES AND RECTIFICATIONS ARE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THIS DATE.

I would also bet what ever payment I receive that my cheque will not be posted by the 16th August. There will be another reason for next delay. Something about this crowd has never rang true with me and they are certainly doing nothing to change my mind about them at this late stage. The expected poor ROI will be the end of it all. Live and learn ......

Hatters · 17-07-2019 4:11pm

I was also told today 16th July and “no idea” what each share is worth. I was expecting a letter with share price once the “ independent audit “ was completed, apparently that’s still ongoing! I’ve projected all your values now from 4-12.5%...a very wide range... no idea what to expect... I’m a 2nd fund investor...1997!!!

ForFsSake · 17-07-2019 6:01pm

Hatters wrote: »

I was also told today 16th July and “no idea” what each share is worth. I was expecting a letter with share price once the “ independent audit “ was completed, apparently that’s still ongoing! I’ve projected all your values now from 4-12.5%...a very wide range... no idea what to expect... I’m a 2nd fund investor...1997!!!

Assume you mean 16th August?

My expectation is that this will drag on well past August and when we finally get the cheques they will be for not much more than what we put in 20 years ago in todays money.

For example the 3rd forestry fund states that for an investment of £500 (EUR 635) "the investor should receive a distribution in excess of £28,500 (EUR 36,188) when the trees are harvested in 30 years time". They even put this sentence in bold print on the prospectus (its online if you want to read it).

We are in for circa 21 of the 30 years and I expect nothing over £2-3K EUR per share when the money finally arrives. No doubt the fund manager won't go short for a few bob though when its all over and took full whack for each of those 21 years despite the fund performance.

Not a mistake I will be repeating!

Hatters · 17-07-2019 8:06pm

ForFsSake wrote: »

Assume you mean 16th August?

My expectation is that this will drag on well past August and when we finally get the cheques they will be for not much more than what we put in 20 years ago in todays money.

For example the 3rd forestry fund states that for an investment of £500 (EUR 635) "the investor should receive a distribution in excess of £28,500 (EUR 36,188) when the trees are harvested in 30 years time". They even put this sentence in bold print on the prospectus (its online if you want to read it).

We are in for circa 21 of the 30 years and I expect nothing over £2-3K EUR per share when the money finally arrives. No doubt the fund manager won't go short for a few bob though when its all over and took full whack for each of those 21 years despite the fund performance.

Not a mistake I will be repeating!

Apologies, yes meant August... suspect you’re right re the final dividend!

sue97 · 19-07-2019 9:21am

My daughters received a share from my father and because of this forum I contacted the fund with a change of address. They gave me a name and address (no email or phone number) to contact.

I got my daughters to write to this guy in May, no communication since. It seems incredibly shady. Will be interested to see what happens

MM75 · 21-07-2019 12:52pm

Hate to burst anyone’s bubble but if my pervious experience is anything to go by, I wouldn’t be holding my breath for a ‘windfall’ (whatever that is in journalistic terms!)

Can’t remember the exact amount but a 10 year fund I had that matured approx 3 years ago got me a cheque for what I’d invested plus a minute amount - only just covered what it cost. Like I said, can’t remember the exact amount but it was no more than a couple of hundred quid - so small it seriously was not worth remembering.

Anything after covering costs would be a bonus
I hope I’m wrong 😀

IrForestryQ · 25-07-2019 3:26am

Did a quick calculation of 3 shares taking into account inflation adjusted percent and I'm getting the following results.

I also included the average % over the current total years and got an average return rate, then drew that over the remainder.

If we don't receive at least the current calculation and a hefty percentage of what is to come I hope we can refuse the sale to AXA and re-negotiate.

Im nervous by the lack of correspondence and details of the sale.

Makes me worried that value and good future returns are being sold on the cheap here and we the long term investors might be potentially going to be left out of the liquidation of the initial final maturity.

I could obviously be wrong and we might all infact get a windfall as reports have been, but thats just the paper and they really have no more information than early liquidation.

If anyone has anymore info on this would be most appreciated.

3 Shares 1500 (In Pounds)

%--Year--Amount--Gain---Total
10.09% 98 1500.00 151.35 1651.35
10.87% 99 1651.35 179.50 1830.85
6.92% 0 1830.85 126.69 1957.55
7.62% 1 1957.55 149.17 2106.71
7.88% 2 2106.71 166.01 2272.72
9.00% 3 2272.72 204.54 2477.27
10.30% 4 2477.27 255.16 2732.42
10.07% 5 2732.42 275.16 3007.58
8.57% 6 3007.58 257.75 3265.33
7.60% 7 3265.33 248.16 3513.49
8.43% 8 3513.49 296.19 3809.68
16.96% 9 3809.68 646.12 4455.80
13.40% 10 4455.80 597.08 5052.88
9.94% 11 5052.88 502.26 5555.14
10.80% 12 5555.14 599.95 6155.09
11.99% 13 6155.09 738.00 6893.09
12.32% 14 6893.09 849.23 7742.32
12.79% 15 7742.32 990.24 8732.56
12.49% 16 8732.56 1090.70 9823.25
12.16% 17 9823.25 1194.51 11017.76
12.01% 18 11017.76 1323.23 12340.99 Projected Actuals: 12340.99 (In Pounds uncoverted)
10.58% 19 12340.99 1305.85 13646.85
10.58% 20 13646.85 1444.03 15090.88
10.58% 21 15090.88 1596.83 16687.71
10.58% 22 16687.71 1765.80 18453.51
10.58% 23 18453.51 1952.64 20406.15
10.58% 24 20406.15 2159.26 22565.42
10.58% 25 22565.42 2387.74 24953.16
10.58% 26 24953.16 2640.40 27593.56
10.58% 27 27593.56 2919.79 30513.35
10.58% 28 30513.35 3228.75 33742.10 Projected Maturity: 33742.10 (In Pounds uncoverted)

paris24 · 25-07-2019 11:31am

So based on your above calculations you think each share bought for IEP500 (Irish pounds) would be IEP11,274.33 now (€14,281.16). I mean I personally would be delighted if we got cheques for €14k per share... but I just cant see that happening

IrForestryQ · 25-07-2019 12:41pm

No Each Share would be worth 4113.66(pounds)

kazamo · 27-07-2019 12:23pm

From memory, the investors have Preference Shares which have no voting rights so really if any of us are unhappy with the return the only option is going to court.
There are ordinary shares but were not available to investors and are used to pass through decisions such as approving this sale.

As all forestry funds are part of this transaction, there is likely a discount applied to sweeten the deal for the purchaser.
I was promised 8.5% per annum return, if I got 8.5% over the 10-12 years I would consider that a win at this stage.

barney shamrock · 27-07-2019 12:30pm

So are they going to start issuing payment cheques in August?
I have a child starting college in September so timing would be perfect.

kazamo · 27-07-2019 12:38pm

From memory, the investors have Preference Shares which have no voting rights so really if any of us are unhappy with the return the only option is going to court.
There are ordinary shares but were not available to investors and are used to pass through decisions such as approving this sale.

As all forestry funds are part of this transaction, there is likely a discount applied to sweeten the deal for the purchaser.
I was promised 8.5% per annum return, if I got 8.5% over the 10-12 years I would consider that a win at this stage.

IrForestryQ · 28-07-2019 1:46am

I wonder about the legality of the sale in relation to the original return promise.

And whats in it for AXA, veon will still manage the site but profits will now go to AXA.

If the return we receive really is amazing then fine but it does worry me that AXA is allowed to purchase our fund from under us.

Bluebeard2 · 28-07-2019 2:50pm

I'm researching where/how to invest in Irish forestry and came across this thread. I heard it's a good investment but it seems not to be managed in a trustworthy manner. Did you all investment through a state body or private company?

Many seem to be unhappy with how your investments are being handled... should I just look for something else to invest in? I'm not very savvy with this kind of thing.

paris24 · 29-07-2019 10:00am

Hmmm I just spoke to them there, the woman who answered the phone said as they were inundated with change of address notifications they have had to push out the date to post cheques to the 16th August. I asked what the valuation amount for each share was but she said the assessor is still finalizing report. I asked were we only going to find out the share amount when we received our cheque and not prior to this. She confirmed yes. SO on the one hand the reason for the delay is the admin issue, fine. But then why has the accessor not finalized his report by now? Is it not strange that you only find out share value upon receipt of cheque? I find this all very fishy to be honest....

Harry Palmr · 29-07-2019 6:42pm

Don't panic, really. Why do people see plots everywhere?

barney shamrock · 29-07-2019 8:29pm

Em.....

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/two-men-jailed-for-calculated-5-5m-forestry-fraud-that-preyed-on-almost-150-investors-38356106.html

Harry Palmr · 29-07-2019 9:11pm

Different bunch entirely, discussion about that crowd elsewhere on boards, in the investment forum I think.

ForFsSake · 29-07-2019 9:23pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Don't panic, really. Why do people see plots everywhere?

I think it is the expected disappointment based on previous payouts that is fueling the chat coupled with a letter saying cheques in July and then not receiving them.

While there are some posts here about what we can/can't do if/when the poor ROI arrives I think all we can do is bank them and move on no matter how disappointing the amount ...... unless they surprise us which does seem unlikley ...... but we will see!

IrForestryQ · 30-07-2019 11:59am

ForFsSake wrote: »

I think it is the expected disappointment based on previous payouts that is fueling the chat coupled with a letter saying cheques in July and then not receiving them.

While there are some posts here about what we can/can't do if/when the poor ROI arrives I think all we can do is bank them and move on no matter how disappointing the amount ...... unless they surprise us which does seem unlikley ...... but we will see!

If its gonna be a disappointment don't you think they should keep the fund going until it matures then.. I'll be going over the financials with a fine tooth comb.

ForFsSake · 30-07-2019 8:13pm

IrForestryQ wrote: »

If its gonna be a disappointment don't you think they should keep the fund going until it matures then.. I'll be going over the financials with a fine tooth comb.

I don't believe we will do any better in 10 years time. For a layman like me it was mis-sold in that it promised rewards many multiple times what we will receive. I know, I had a choice and I chose to invest so cant blame anyone else. They could of course surprise us yet with a healthy ROI but it seems unlikely.

I am glad you will look at the financials. I tried to look at past accounts they sent out but I don't have the skills to understand them. I would like to know how much Master Brosnan and team were paid for managing an underperforming fund over the past 20 years. Did their pay reduce to reflect fund performance. My guess is that we won't find out and they were paid their whack before sending out the cheques. Maybe even gave themselves a bonus for making this sale?

Anyway I have written it off (bar the odd post here of course!), will bank whatever I get and try and forget about it after that!

AndrewJRenko · 30-07-2019 9:09pm

ForFsSake wrote: »

I would like to know how much Master Brosnan and team were paid for managing an underperforming fund over the past 20 years. Did their pay reduce to reflect fund performance. My guess is that we won't find out and they were paid their whack before sending out the cheques. Maybe even gave themselves a bonus for making this sale?

The bigger question is now much the promoters paid themselves for the forest maintenance contract services that they provided. That was what scared me off the original prospectus - the intention to contract maintenance to the promoters rather than getting best value.

iriship · 30-07-2019 11:33pm

On the phone with them today. New date 15/16 of August for payment/check. No other information

Hatters · 31-07-2019 7:07pm

iriship wrote: »

On the phone with them today. New date 15/16 of August for payment/check. No other information

The anticipation and suspense is killing me! Have no idea what to expect which is nuts... wouldn’t happen anywhere else! Hope we are all happy on 16th August!! ðŸ€ž

furiousox · 31-07-2019 7:19pm

I have three shares and I honestly don't know what to expect either.
1000 per share?
4000 per share?
Can anyone make an educated guess based on the financial reports available?

ForFsSake · 31-07-2019 11:16pm

furiousox wrote: »

I have three shares and I honestly don't know what to expect either.
1000 per share?
4000 per share?
Can anyone make an educated guess based on the financial reports available?

Absolutely no idea either.

Although exceptionally poor vs original prospectus at this stage I would be pleasantly surprised with 4K per share.

antietam1 · 03-08-2019 4:05pm

I used to laugh at Geldoff's banana republic, not so sure now.
Certainly came across a lot of corruption, nepotism and incompetence in my time.

AndrewJRenko · 03-08-2019 9:45pm

antietam1 wrote: »

I used to laugh at Geldoff's banana republic, not so sure now.
Certainly came across a lot of corruption, nepotism and incompetence in my time.

Are you suggesting that corruption, nepotism and incompetence were involved in this case?

antietam1 · 04-08-2019 1:27pm

The country as a whole.

AndrewJRenko · 04-08-2019 2:32pm

antietam1 wrote: »

The country as a whole.

If you're suggesting there was corruption, nepotism or incompetence involved in this fund, please be more specific.

Harry Palmr · 04-08-2019 2:34pm

Ignore him, just going to look like a fool soon enough hopefully.

dan1981 · 04-08-2019 5:05pm

Some rough sums here - nowhere near as stellar as IrForestryQ's (or perhaps optimistic!) - but just having a stab at things...

Across the funds from 2nd to 7th there were 20,000 shares being offered - we can assume they were all sold at £500(punt) each - I know funds I was involved in were over-subscribed.

The total land (without the trees) that's been sold to AXA has been 4094 hectares, equating to 10116.49 acres. 18 months ago The Journal [1] quoted the Farmers Journal saying the average price for an acre of agricultural land was €9088. So the total value of the land as of 18 months ago would be around €92,000,000. Agriland says the value of agricultural land outside Dublin rose sharply in 2018 too [2] - but let's keep to the more conservative (ish) estimate.

So at first principles, if the trees all burned down and the land was all that was left, the value of each share would be averaged out at €4597 a share (assuming you could easily divide the land value by the total number of shares across the funds and no costs were involved). I think this is cause for some optimism.

The CSO have a database with a substantial amount of data on land values in various parts of the country, most forestry activity tends to be in the southwest from experience, where land values are lowest - however if you take the lowest price per hectare, multiply it by the number of hectares sold and divide it by the number of shares across the funds the value for the land alone should yield a significant gain for IFF investors.

The 5th fund seems to the mid-range one (6000 shares sold and seems almost halfway into things) so we could use 20 years as the average number of years across all the funds (easy for some lazy maths here but understand the various funds will have different yields and land values). So I'm working on basis of a return over 20 years.

On Veon's own website they have a calculator for landowners to get an idea of how much they could earn from their land from forestry [3]. I plugged in the full 4094 hectares to see what the annual return would be:
> 4094 hectares for Broadleaf: annual return from Veon of €2,783,920
> 4094 hectares for Conifer: annual return from Veon of €2,456,400

So if you were the landowner (and I suppose in this case the Irish Forestry Fund investors are that's what the money was for) multiplying the two figures above by 20 you'd have either €49m made in twenty years assuming zero inflation, interest, or any change, or €55 million. We should be conservative again here, so let's go with the lower value of €49m.

Excluding any management fees (I know this is a point of contention, but let's set it aside for now) combining the return to the landowner over twenty years (€49m) with the value of the full 4094 hectares (€92m) we're left with a combined value at 20 years (land value and return from the land being worked) of €141 million.

If you divide that figure by the # of shares across the funds (20,000) you end up with a value per share of about €7000 - that's a return of 12.75% on an investment per share of €635(£500).

I'm doubting this all of course too, as that return is pretty close to the 12.5% return estimated for the very fund I've been averaging over, though obviously, the second and third funds had more generous/ambitious returns. That said, I think the land value is something in particular that should reassure investors.

Of course, as others have pointed out the real value growth is between now and full maturation so you would expect a premium over this figure per share if the "summer bonanza" is to be believed as a true return to investors. I would be cautiously optimistic that there is good faith by all involved, and that nobody has been duped, deceived or ripped off, even if Veon stands to continue to benefit from the relationship. It's in everyone's interest I believe for the full value to be sweated from the entire value of the fund, including the land value.

Two further things stick out for me right now, and I know they are leaving me feeling less optimistic than the very rough math above.

The Irish Forest Unit Trust currently estimates the return (including land) of investing in forestry of between 5% and 7% [4] leaving the value of a share somewhere between €1684 and €2457. I think this can be easily dismissed in term of the unit cost of land being substantially higher now than it was 20 years ago. Also (and this is something my father, a big advocate of the fund pointed out) that climate change has probably meant the trees have grown somewhat faster, and that perhaps maturation is closer than the full 30 years.

The only published report I noted involving the Irish Forestry Fund was a ten year fund which the Irish Independent reported as resulting in an annual yield of 6.2% - I think this was in 2011[5] - my brain is broke with the figures above but I will come back and add the Indo link in when I find it later on. But 6.2% return over 20 years would represent just under half of the actual value of the land itself if the figures above can be in any way believed.

Sources:
I'm not allowed post links because I'm a n00b. Will make them available if anyone wants them!

antietam1 · 04-08-2019 5:19pm

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

If you're suggesting there was corruption, nepotism or incompetence involved in this fund, please be more specific.

Never claimed I had proof, just that it looks odd and that I found nepotism everywhere I worked anyway.
I don't think Bob mentions the forestry fund in his song.

tabby aspreme · 04-08-2019 10:50pm

Just a few points regarding Dan's post. Forestry land is usually marginal land , and the price of land currently, for planting is in the €2-4000 / acre range. Planted land is at its lowest value after 20 years, €3000 is what's usually quoted, because at that point all the government grants have been collected and the trees will need thinning which is a break even process if a contractor is involved.

antietam1 · 05-08-2019 11:14am

The good thing about this for me is I would have been in my mid 70s when this matured.
So to get anything now is probably better, obviously when you are younger you are more optimistic about your health.

Shaun73 · 06-08-2019 10:18am

The following notice appeared on the Irish Forestry Funds website during the third week of May:

“THE DEADLINE FOR CHANGES AND ALTERATIONS TO THE SHARE REGISTERS FOR THE IRISH FORESTRY FUNDS IS 12 NOON THIS FRIDAY 31ST MAY 2019 IN PREPARATION FOR THE ISSUING OF DISTRIBUTIONS IN JULY.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT ANY ADDRESS CHANGES AND RECTIFICATIONS ARE COMPLETED PRIOR TO THIS DATE”.

This notice was accompanied by an announcement to the effect that all of the funds had been sold. An excerpt is as follows:

“The directors of the Irish Forestry Funds are pleased to announce that they have accepted an offer from AXA Investment Managers for the entire portfolio of the Irish Forestry Funds on behalf of their 12,400 shareholders.”

The situation today, 6 August 2019, is that:

• There were no distributions in July.

• The 12,400 shareholders, on whose behalf the directors accepted the offer of AXA Investment Managers, have been told nothing by way of explanation either through correspondence or updating of the IFS website.

sandman30 · 06-08-2019 10:37am

dan1981 wrote: »

Some rough sums here - nowhere near as stellar as IrForestryQ's (or perhaps optimistic!) - but just having a stab at things...

Across the funds from 2nd to 7th there were 20,000 shares being offered - we can assume they were all sold at £500(punt) each - I know funds I was involved in were over-subscribed.

The total land (without the trees) that's been sold to AXA has been 4094 hectares, equating to 10116.49 acres. 18 months ago The Journal [1] quoted the Farmers Journal saying the average price for an acre of agricultural land was €9088. So the total value of the land as of 18 months ago would be around €92,000,000. Agriland says the value of agricultural land outside Dublin rose sharply in 2018 too [2] - but let's keep to the more conservative (ish) estimate.

So at first principles, if the trees all burned down and the land was all that was left, the value of each share would be averaged out at €4597 a share (assuming you could easily divide the land value by the total number of shares across the funds and no costs were involved). I think this is cause for some optimism.

The CSO have a database with a substantial amount of data on land values in various parts of the country, most forestry activity tends to be in the southwest from experience, where land values are lowest - however if you take the lowest price per hectare, multiply it by the number of hectares sold and divide it by the number of shares across the funds the value for the land alone should yield a significant gain for IFF investors.

The 5th fund seems to the mid-range one (6000 shares sold and seems almost halfway into things) so we could use 20 years as the average number of years across all the funds (easy for some lazy maths here but understand the various funds will have different yields and land values). So I'm working on basis of a return over 20 years.

On Veon's own website they have a calculator for landowners to get an idea of how much they could earn from their land from forestry [3]. I plugged in the full 4094 hectares to see what the annual return would be:
> 4094 hectares for Broadleaf: annual return from Veon of €2,783,920
> 4094 hectares for Conifer: annual return from Veon of €2,456,400

So if you were the landowner (and I suppose in this case the Irish Forestry Fund investors are that's what the money was for) multiplying the two figures above by 20 you'd have either €49m made in twenty years assuming zero inflation, interest, or any change, or €55 million. We should be conservative again here, so let's go with the lower value of €49m.

Excluding any management fees (I know this is a point of contention, but let's set it aside for now) combining the return to the landowner over twenty years (€49m) with the value of the full 4094 hectares (€92m) we're left with a combined value at 20 years (land value and return from the land being worked) of €141 million.

If you divide that figure by the # of shares across the funds (20,000) you end up with a value per share of about €7000 - that's a return of 12.75% on an investment per share of €635(£500).

I'm doubting this all of course too, as that return is pretty close to the 12.5% return estimated for the very fund I've been averaging over, though obviously, the second and third funds had more generous/ambitious returns. That said, I think the land value is something in particular that should reassure investors.

Of course, as others have pointed out the real value growth is between now and full maturation so you would expect a premium over this figure per share if the "summer bonanza" is to be believed as a true return to investors. I would be cautiously optimistic that there is good faith by all involved, and that nobody has been duped, deceived or ripped off, even if Veon stands to continue to benefit from the relationship. It's in everyone's interest I believe for the full value to be sweated from the entire value of the fund, including the land value.

Two further things stick out for me right now, and I know they are leaving me feeling less optimistic than the very rough math above.

The Irish Forest Unit Trust currently estimates the return (including land) of investing in forestry of between 5% and 7% [4] leaving the value of a share somewhere between €1684 and €2457. I think this can be easily dismissed in term of the unit cost of land being substantially higher now than it was 20 years ago. Also (and this is something my father, a big advocate of the fund pointed out) that climate change has probably meant the trees have grown somewhat faster, and that perhaps maturation is closer than the full 30 years.

The only published report I noted involving the Irish Forestry Fund was a ten year fund which the Irish Independent reported as resulting in an annual yield of 6.2% - I think this was in 2011[5] - my brain is broke with the figures above but I will come back and add the Indo link in when I find it later on. But 6.2% return over 20 years would represent just under half of the actual value of the land itself if the figures above can be in any way believed.

Sources:
I'm not allowed post links because I'm a n00b. Will make them available if anyone wants them!

This analysis is flawed. If all the trees burned down the land would be worth nowhere near €4500 per acre. Good quality forestry land that is at least yield class 20 is worth a top of 4k per acre. However in this figure is included the planting grant approx 1k per acre and the the annual premium approx 250 per year for 15 years. Land for replanting that has no grants on it would be worth about €1k per acre. Of course there would also be the insurance payout for insurance damage.

Harry Palmr · 06-08-2019 1:01pm

Shaun73 wrote: »

The situation today, 6 August 2019, is that:

• There were no distributions in July.

• The 12,400 shareholders, on whose behalf the directors accepted the offer of AXA Investment Managers, have been told nothing by way of explanation either through correspondence or updating of the IFS website.

Well they have because I got a letter informing me of the delay due to the number of out of date details.

antietam1 · 06-08-2019 1:25pm

Did everybody go into it to make money?
I was very interested in the environment and reforestation at the time, as well as
any nest egg considerations.

gordongekko · 06-08-2019 2:01pm

antietam1 wrote: »

Did everybody go into it to make money?
I was very interested in the environment and reforestation at the time, as well as
any nest egg considerations.

Ha ha ha

ForFsSake · 06-08-2019 2:05pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Well they have because I got a letter informing me of the delay due to the number of out of date details.

They wrote to those in one fund and did not write to those in the other 20 to 25 funds that are in the same boat. So 95% plus of people received no notification that they were not sending cheques in July as stated in the only letter we did get. They have a reason for choosing that one fund to write to but I can't remember what it is.

To not update the website so we don't have to resort to forums to find out if anything has changed is p*** poor but I wouldn't expect anything more from these people.

Hatters · 06-08-2019 2:33pm

The letter I received on the 15th May stated that once the Independent Persons Report was completed the directors will declare the dividend.... I just rand them and the audit is now completed but there was nor will be (surprisingly enough) NO declaration! Cheques will be issued on the 16th August by an external source as they can’t cope with the volume at Veon...all shareholders will simultaneously find out in keeping with company law???!!

Harry Palmr · 06-08-2019 2:37pm

antietam1 wrote: »

Did everybody go into it to make money?
I was very interested in the environment and reforestation at the time, as well as
any nest egg considerations.

Money

Managed commercial forestry is not environmentally sound bar some carbon sequestration - the forests themselves are monoculture, with almost no eco diversity under that dark canopy and the side effect of adding acid to the soil, watercourses.

Shaun73 · 06-08-2019 4:03pm

I stand corrected in relation to direct communication with shareholders. I am invested in five of the eighteen funds, which I regard as a representative sample. I have five almost identical letters dated 15 May 2019, which are signed by Paul Brosnan, Chairman. I have received no further communication.

I will rephrase my comment. The change is in italics.

The situation today, 6 August 2019, is that:

• There were no distributions in July.

• The great majority of the12,400 shareholders, on whose behalf the directors accepted the offer of AXA Investment Managers, have been told nothing by way of explanation either through correspondence or updating of the IFS website.

Shaun73 · 06-08-2019 4:05pm

The italics didn't work.

"The great majority of"

Shaun73 · 06-08-2019 4:14pm

I have been overtaken by an event. The following notice has just appeared on the IFS website.

DUE TO THE SHEER VOLUME OF CHANGE OF CONTACT DETAILS WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM SHAREHOLDERS WE HAVE HAD TO EXTEND THE DATE OF CHEQUE ISSUANCE FROM THE END OF JULY AS INITIALLY PLANNED.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTIONS WILL NOW BE ISSUED ON FRIDAY 16TH AUGUST AND A DIVIDEND WARRANT WILL ACCOMPANY THE CHEQUE.

ForFsSake · 06-08-2019 4:32pm

Shaun73 wrote: »

I have been overtaken by an event. The following notice has just appeared on the IFS website.

DUE TO THE SHEER VOLUME OF CHANGE OF CONTACT DETAILS WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM SHAREHOLDERS WE HAVE HAD TO EXTEND THE DATE OF CHEQUE ISSUANCE FROM THE END OF JULY AS INITIALLY PLANNED.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTIONS WILL NOW BE ISSUED ON FRIDAY 16TH AUGUST AND A DIVIDEND WARRANT WILL ACCOMPANY THE CHEQUE.

Baring in mind they have had a month to update their website and only did it today its likely they either got bored of answering calls asking the same questions or they read this forum and decided to make the change!

At least it brings some certainty to cheques going out Friday week.

Third Irish forestry fund.

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