AAA: Property Investors are keen to expand their Portfolios

Property investors are increasing the size of their portfolios in the UK and elsewhere, as the appetite for alternative investments continues to take hold, according to AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, June 16, 2012 -- Property investors are increasing the size of their portfolios in the UK and elsewhere, as the appetite for alternative investments continues to take hold, according to Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

The alternative investment advocacy group has cited figures from Paragon Mortgages, a lender in the UK, which claims that the average property investor, who buys property to rent out, has increased the size of their portfolio to 14.1 properties in the second quarter of the year. This is up from an average of 12.9 properties in the first quarter of 2012.

These figures suggest that each buy-to-let investor has bought more than one new property since the beginning of the year, which is a major increase in portfolio size and an indicator that real estate is back on the list of safe investments,” stated Anthony Johnson, AAA’s analysis partner.

As well as the above figures, Paragon’s survey also found that 21 per cent of the investors questioned said they were planning to add to their portfolios in the third quarter of the year. This was up from just 18 per cent a year ago.

AAA claims that real estate is a strong investment at the moment, as the rental market all over the Western world Is extremely active, with many young professionals still looking for rental property. The US real estate market is also heading for recovery once more, according to Mr Johnson who highlighted the benefits of alternative investments of all kinds.

We are seeing more and more people put their cash into tangible asset classes, such as real estate, timberland, gold and even art and antiques, as they search for alternatives to the volatile equity markets.”

AAA said that timberland is particularly ethical choice for alternative investors, with firms like Greenwood Management, in Brazil, running sustainably managed plantations of non-native trees.

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596

FRA comments on Brazilian Deforestation Reductions

Amazon rainforest deforestation rates have fallen to their lowest levels ever recorded and FRA is attributing this partly to the creation of sustainable forestry plantations in Brazil.

Seattle, United States, June 16, 2012 -- Amazon rainforest deforestation rates have fallen to their lowest levels ever recorded and Forestry Research Associates (FRA) is attributing this partly to the creation of sustainable forestry plantations in Brazil.

New figures from the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil show that deforestation has reached the lowest levels since records began more than 20 years ago, and the results are being published just a fortnight before the Rio+20 Earth Summit.

In the 12 months to 31 July 2011, some 6,418 square km of forests were destroyed, which is the smallest area since 1988. The rate of deforestation has actually dropped by 75 per cent since 2004 and FRA, along with many other analysis organisations attributes much of the success to the measures brought in by the Brazilian government to try to limit deforestation.

Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, said the government was largely responsible for the improvement. She said, "This reduction is impressive; it is the result of changes in society, but it also stems from the political decision to inspect, as well as from punitive action by government agencies.”

FRA’s analysis partner, Peter Collins, said that the government’s measures have had a big effect. “An example is their move to discourage the steel industry from using illegally logged timber for the production of charcoal. Any firms that did so would not have been eligible for state handouts, so they all turned to sustainable plantations, such as those run by Greenwood Management and other similar investment firms, to source their charcoal.”

FRA claims that this means the market for sustainably produced timber and charcoal is growing, which is great news for anyone investing in timberland in Brazil.

Greenwood and other plantation management firms offer people outside Brazil the chance to invest in non-native timber plantations that help to provide alternatives to local illegally logged timber.

About Forestry Research Associates

Forestry Research Associates is a research and advisory consultancy that focuses on forestry management, sustainability issues and forestry investment around the globe.

Media Contact:
Peter Collins
Forestry Research Associates
620 Vineyard Lane
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
(206) 316 8394

Capital Platform's New Alternative Proposition attracts Praise from AAA

Capital Platform's new alternative investment proposition for investors in the UK has attracted praise from AAA.

Boston, MA, USA, June 16, 2012 -- Capital Platform's new alternative investment proposition for investors in the UK has attracted praise from Alternative Asset Analysis (AAA).

AAA, an alternative investment advocacy group, said that the new offering from Capital Platform will help to further underline the validity of a range of alternative asset classes on offer today.

The new initiative is intended to help investors to research various alternative investment options, with regards to factors such as ethics, compliance and returns. The firm’s director Darren Beddard, explained, “Capital Platform has been designed as a trusted source to give independent financial advisers and wealth managers everything they need to best serve clients in their alternative investment strategies.

It offers an innovative proposition designed to make life easier for product providers and IFAs/wealth managers by delivering a range of products and services where we do the hard work for them.”

AAA is a keen supporter of alternative investments of many kinds and is a particular backer of ethical and responsible investment options in emerging markets. AAA’s analysis partner, Anthony Johnson, explained, “Today’s volatile stock markets have resulted in a huge number of individuals and institutional investors setting their sites on alternative asset classes.”

AAA supports a range of projects, including impact investing projects in Africa and sustainable forestry investment plans in Brazil. “Funds such a those set up and operated by Greenwood Management, for example, help to detract pressure form natural resources that are highly vulnerable, such as the native Amazon rainforest,” added Mr Johnson.

Speaking about the new Capital Platform offering, Mr Beddard added, “Capital Platform currently offers more than 20 products from a range of providers on which we conduct extensive due diligence.

Whether unregulated collective investment schemes, enterprise investment schemes or venture capital trusts, we ensure the products on the platform conform to FSA and Financial Services and Markets Act rules.”

About Alternative Asset Analysis:
The remit of Alternative Asset Analysis is to analyse and provide news on the global performance of a wide range of alternative asset classes including, but not restricted to, commodities, real estate, forestry, foreign exchange, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital.

Media Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-939-9596

Kay Pratt Announced as the Gallery's Featured Artist

Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery is pleased to announce that Californian artist Kay Pratt is this month's featured artist.

Jupiter, Florida - June 16, 2012 -- Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery is pleased to announce that Californian artist Kay Pratt is this month's featured artist. Kay has participated in several of the gallery’s art exhibitions and she won the Second Annual 2011 Abstract Exhibition for her painting “Play Red”.

Kay states this about her art and her life in California, "As a native Californian I spent my childhood years playing in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains above Sunland Tujunga. Slowly, the majestic spaces I once called "Fort" or "Cave" were diminished by the demands of development - lost forever.

The great Plein Air Painters of the California Coastal and Desert Lands left us the legacy of their works and with them an historical account of those lost places - truly a gift to us all! In the tradition of my late Grandfather, Walt A. Lee and his many "sketch trek buddies" such as Hanson Putthuff and Edgar A. Payne, I try to capture threatened and historical places with love and the hope that my works will remind viewers of the importance of the preservation of the scenic California landscape”.

Kay Pratt is a Visual Artist and a Certified Expressive Arts Therapy Practitioner; she is the Founder and Director of the Expressive Arts Therapists Network in Orange County, CA, a member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) and The Lighthouse for the blind and visually impaired in San Francisco, California.

Kay is a member of the following art organizations; Laguna Plein Air Painters Association, the California Art Club and the Acrylic Painters Association of America. Her website and art blog is http://fineartbykay.com

About Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery

Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery conducts monthly art competitions and monthly art exhibitions for new and emerging artists on a worldwide basis. It is Light Space & Time’s intention to showcase this incredible talent in a series of monthly themed art competitions and art exhibitions by marketing and displaying the exceptional abilities of these worldwide artists.

The art gallery website can be viewed here: http://www.lightspacetime.com

Media Contact:
John R. Math
Light Space & Time Online Gallery
118 Poinciana Drive
Jupiter, FL 33458
888-490-3530