Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the FTNS investment capital portfolio grew by +4.94% in 2020, exceeding the 4% performance target set out in its Investment Policy. As a result of this performance, the trust fund’s investment capital was at €63.8 million at the beginning of 2021, a monetary growth of approximately €3 million.
While 2019 saw a general rise in all types of financial assets, 2020 proved to be a challenging year. The coronavirus pandemic triggered sharp falls in February-March, followed by a sharp rebound from late March to late August, thanks to unprecedented monetary and fiscal support from central banks and governments of economically viable countries. The 2nd wave of the Covid-19 caused further variations in September and October, before a year-end rally linked to excellent news on the vaccine front. According to the IMF, the world economy will have contracted by -4.4% in 2020, the worst year since the great depression of the 1930s.
About 3 million € profit in 2020
Despite all these trends, the FTNS ship, steered by its Investment Committee with the support of its Investment Advisor, has held up well, generating approximately €3 million in capital growth, of which €1.8 million has been used to support the TNS parks in 2021.
As a reminder, FTNS provides annually about 2 million Euros in grants to the 03 TNS parks for the implementation of their conservation, eco-development and transboundary cooperation activities. This reinforces its position as a secure and sustainable funding mechanism for the Sangha Tri-national (TNS), the first transboundary World Heritage forest site in Central Africa.