Several companies are optimistic about the future of the managed investment schemes (MIS) industry despite a recent report which showed funds invested in the sector tumbled 77 per cent in the 2008/09 financial year.
Hardwood plantation forestry manager ITC said it trebled its market share and received strong inflows across its MIS projects in the recent fiscal year.
"ITC sees a very positive outlook for the forestry sector - global demand for forestry products is increasing," ITC communications manager Adam Redman said.
"For the last two years in a row the benchmark woodchip price for exports of environmentally-certified hardwood plantation to Japan has remained the same price, whereas other export commodities have been slashed.
"This shows that forestry products have a lot of resilience to the volatility of commodity and equity markets."
Although the market has contracted due to the collapse of Great Southern and Timbercorp, advisers and investors are clearly looking to invest with forestry companies that don't rely on MIS as their sole revenue stream, Redman said.
However, ITC would like to see a restoration of investor confidence in the sector, perhaps via an improved regulatory framework, he said.
Willmott Forests reported total woodlot sales of $65.8 million (excluding GST) for the 2008/09 financial year, which in relative terms was an exceptional result and more than anyone else in the sector, Willmott chief executive Marcus Derham said.
"Our market share of the forestry market was just under 30 per cent for the year, up from 13 per cent in the previous year," he said.
"Certainly the industry is dealing with a fairly high level of negative sentiment at the moment, but the numbers show that well-rated products delivered by sound managers like Willmott Forests will always find a place in investment portfolios."
The MIS sector raised $250 million over the past financial year, a reduction of $829 million on 2007/08 figures, according to an annual MIS survey by agribusiness research provider Australian Agribusiness Group (AAG).
"Such drastic reductions are clearly indicative of the current turbulence in the agri-MIS industry, caused by the collapse of Timbercorp and Great Southern, and tightening economic and market conditions," AAG director Tim Lee said.
