People seek alternative investments for a variety of reasons. Some want a greater chance of equity growth, but unfortunately that's usually accompanied by a greater chance of equity loss. Some seek asset protection, but unfortunately that usually means slower growth. Few alternative investments provide both equity growth and asset protection.
Like conventional investments, most alternative investments keep the investor at arm's length. Even in limited liability arrangements, most investors have little to no control over the conduct of the venture. This is not the case with investing in black walnut and black cherry plantations.
Plantation owners run their own show. They own or lease the land, they own the trees, they schedule and manage tree care. Even if they themselves don't do the actual work themselves, they plan, manage and facilitate the work. They're in control.
Black walnut and black cherry plantations are the ideal alternative investment. Prime veneer-grade wood has become so scarce that there's no chance that pent-up demand, which is already beyond calculation, won't absord all that we can possibly produce over the next 30 to 50 years. And once the trees are established, there's little that Mother Nature can throw their way that they can't handle.
Though we use the term "alternative investment" to describe these plantations, they're not really investments at all, at least not in the conventional sense of the word. They do not confer upon the owner a piece of paper that says he or she is a shareholder or participant or general partner. The owner is, in fact, the owner/operator of the plantation and actively involved in managing and improving it.
He or she may manage the plantation from an office in Los Angeles or on Wall Street. These owner/operators may only visit the site once or twice a year. Nonetheless, they are owners, not shareholders. They may join with others in a partnership or even in a limited liability corporation, but the fact remains, they are not shareholders. They are owners, with the full array of advantages that that confers.
