New Forests has launched its first global natural capital investment strategy, marking a significant expansion of the firm's capabilities as investor interest in nature-based assets continues to gather momentum.

The Sydney-headquartered investment manager has announced the launch of its Global Landscape Opportunities ( GLO ) strategy, a Luxembourg-domiciled vehicle designed to provide institutional investors with diversified exposure to forestry, agriculture, and emerging environmental markets, including carbon and biodiversity.

The strategy brings together more than two decades of New Forests’ investment experience across regional markets into a single global platform. It will target opportunities across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, reflecting growing demand among institutional investors for broader access to natural capital assets.

The launch comes at a time when investors are increasingly looking beyond traditional asset classes in search of inflation protection, portfolio diversification, and long-term real returns.

Natural capital, which encompasses productive land and ecosystems that generate economic and environmental value, has attracted growing attention as concerns over climate change, food security, and biodiversity loss move higher up investment agendas.

Mark Rogers, chief executive officer of New Forests, says the strategy represents an important milestone in the firm's evolution into a global natural capital investment manager.

“The launch of our Global Landscape Opportunities strategy marks a significant step in the evolution of New Forests as a global natural capital investment manager,” says New Forests chief executive officer Mark Rogers. “We are seeing strong investor demand for scalable, institutional strategies that provide diversified exposure to natural capital.

“This strategy responds directly to that need, bringing together our global platform, investment expertise, and track record into a single offering. Natural capital is increasingly recognized as a core component of resilient portfolios, offering the potential for long-term returns while supporting critical outcomes such as climate stability, biodiversity and sustainable land use,” he adds.

Global portfolios

According to New Forests, the GLO strategy is intended to provide investors with exposure to a broad range of land-based assets and environmental markets. Investments will span sustainable forestry operations, agricultural land and food production systems, carbon and climate-related opportunities, as well as biodiversity and ecosystem service markets.

“Historically, many investors have accessed natural capital through regional allocations, but not all institutions have the scale, resources or expertise to build and manage global portfolios themselves,” says David Shelton, the firm's global head of investments.

Under the proposed allocation framework, between 60% and 80% of capital will be invested in developed markets, including the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Up to 30% may be allocated to developed Latin American markets such as Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile, while as much as 20% could be directed to Southeast Asia, other parts of Latin America, and Africa.

The strategy will be available exclusively to institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, endowments, and foundations, underscoring the growing role of natural capital as an emerging pillar of long-term investment portfolios.