# Gwd



## elleq (Sep 16, 2015)

We are thinking of investing in a company called GWD (Greenwood New Brunswick Project Ltd.) Does anyone have info on this. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

Why are you considering an investment with them ? What is their value proposition that attracts you ? Why do you think would an investment in GWD be better (lower costs/higher returns/safer) than any other investment options ?

I just googled them and found their website. They appear to be in the business of growing Christmas trees ? I bought mine from IKEA last year for $20 - it was from the NB region too. (Check: Product may not be fake  )

They have a contact number listed on the site and it has a country code 34 (SPAIN) ? Why would a Canadian business route you to a Spanish phone number if you want to know more about them ? FLAG 1

I tried to find who the promoters/investors are but could not find that info. FLAG 2


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Greenwood appears to fall under GWD Group. See Greenwood Forestry website for some arm wavy investment discussion and see Greenwood Mnagement website for add'l investment promotional material. No real information provided, very opaque.
Further searching suggests at best a boiler room-type outfit with high pressured sales tactics. At worst ...?

I wouldn't touch this with a 10 ft Christmas tree. I wouldn't walk, I would hop on the nearest skidder and drive at top speed away from this outfit:

_If you wish to invest, please either email ... or call ... An account manager will then discuss our investments with you in more detail and answer any questions you may have. Once you have decided how much to invest and that you wish to go ahead with an order, you will be required to pay a € 500 deposit by credit card. The deposit will be deducted from the final balance of your order. Once your order and deposit have been taken, within 24 hours you will receive a compliance call to verify your details. You will then be emailed a client contract and invoice. You will be required to print out, sign and send back the contract, and pay the balance of the invoice by bank transfer within five days. On receipt of your funds and your signed contract, an ownership certificate providing the details of your order will be sent to you by post for your records._


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

I may be going out on a limb here, but...do they have any "branch" offices??


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

No, and "needling" the OP may be warranted as it seems like spam.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> I may be going out on a limb here, but...do they have any "branch" offices??


Groan...:rolleyes-new: I may be barking up the wrong tree here, but if it is their legal or banking branches you are wondering about, they list them respectively as:

...| Halifax, New Brunswick - that's right. I have yet to find Halifax in New Brunswick however.
...| Freseriction, New Brunswick - and I have yet to find Freseriction anywhere on earth except on their website.

I suspect the company is run by tree lemurs whose intelligence is limited, but still smart enough to get their 'performance fee' from gullible 'investors'. There is quite a history to this bunch if you spend some time digging. As I suggested - don't walk away, drive!


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

If elleq is seriously interested in alternative investments in forest, there is some (older, UK) discussion here:
http://www.whatinvestment.co.uk/investing-in-assets/alternative-investments/2134293/how-to-invest-in-forestry.thtml
_In part: ... Unfortunately, the two main trusts – Phaunos Timber and Cambium Global Timberland – have been a ‘huge disappointment’ since launch, according to James Brown, an analyst at Winterflood Securities. In the past five years, Phaunos has turned an investment of £1,000 into £724, but Cambium has struggled even more, with only £433 left following a fire and some adverse currency movements. Brown believes that the future is ‘unclear’ for these trusts, though he is still adamant that conceptually the asset class is attractive...

It’s the old adage of ‘if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is’. As with other unregulated schemes, forestry investment is also susceptible to scams. Just remember the basic scam protocol: never buy anything from a cold caller; always do thorough research before investing; check with the FSA if you have concerns; and, most importantly, don’t be seduced by flashy returns, especially if they claim to be guaranteed or risk-free.
_
The Forestland Investment Portal http://forestlandinvesting.com/ provides some good reading and links to some recognizable investment options. Notably, the company posted by the OP is not listed.


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

I went to the website. Didn't see a link to "Financial s". It might have been hidden, or not. Please post if you know where they are. If you don't, why would you "invest" a red cent in them?


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## janus10 (Nov 7, 2013)

pnky said:


> Why are you considering an investment with them ?


Maybe he is pining for growth and wants to trim his cash position by investing in GWD under the beleaf that they will run rings around the competition. 

What is suspicious is what twigged the OP, what planted the seed, into thinking GWD made the cut. Is this to spruce up his portfolio or is it fir other reasons? Is he some hopeless sap, green behind the ears, or did he use a decision tree? 

Wood he share his trading logs? Then we can see if he needs to brush up on his analysis or take another root. Otherwise, he may just lumber along unable to see the forest for the trees.


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## lightcycle (Mar 24, 2012)

Wow, spectacular spam backfire.

OP sure is unpoplar around here.


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## pnky (Jul 16, 2012)

janus10 said:


> Maybe he is pining for growth and wants to trim his cash position by investing in GWD under the beleaf that they will run rings around the competition.
> 
> What is suspicious is what twigged the OP, what planted the seed, into thinking GWD made the cut. Is this to spruce up his portfolio or is it fir other reasons? Is he some hopeless sap, green behind the ears, or did he use a decision tree?
> 
> Wood he share his trading logs? Then we can see if he needs to brush up on his analysis or take another root. Otherwise, he may just lumber along unable to see the forest for the trees.


Hahaha...brilliant


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## Mr_Not_Canadian (Jan 29, 2017)

*Investigating now*



elleq said:


> We are thinking of investing in a company called GWD (Greenwood New Brunswick Project Ltd.) Does anyone have info on this. Anything would be appreciated. Thanks


The kinds of returns that GWD is currently offering are not impossible in the asset classes they're pushing, and their projects sound pretty good and quite wise. I'm currently calling the various regulatory bodies involved that can verify their claims. The land office in NB, the purchasing department of the retailers they claim have purchased from them in the past. I've asked some pretty thorough questions with answers that can be verified by trusted third parties, and I will double check those answers as well. The two things that concern me are not the multinational aspect but that when I said one of his promises sounded too good to be true he kind of choked / coughed his answer regarding overplanting and such. The other thing is that it's pretty opaque, as another poster said. No annual reports, private owners a bit secretive. The strange thing is that they don't act like scammers. That could be an expression of experience at scamming, of course. If I had to make a guess, I think I will discover that they really are land owners / lessors who are either unrealistically optimistic or inflating their profit potential to cash in on investor liquidation. I'll know more after tomorrow when the NB land title offices are open. If anyone else wants to call I suggest you do.

The hard thing here is that there isn't excellent reporting on year by year Christmas tree trends, which is kind of odd considering it's been done for 100 years and there is some intermittent information. Seems artificial trees are about 50% of the market now, though some sources are saying 80%. 2014 and 2015 were good years for sales, and Canada is exporting pretty darn well. The business does seem super cut throat, however, so the claim that demand is outstripping supply doesn't exactly line up. The good thing, obviously, is that since the trees take quite a while to grow and can be used for multiple purposes ... anyway I'm getting off track. Scam or not? So far, I am leaning slightly towards not. I'll be investigating for 2 weeks-ish.

But I'm pretty happy about one thing, even if this does turn out to be a load of crap that I have been turned on to this investment class. It's seeming that even if it's not a scam that it would make more sense for me to invest more directly, seek a land management company I can have confidence in, and lease land for production of different hardwood crops. Seems pretty predictable and safe.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks for bumping this thread. Re-reading it made me laugh to the point of tears. :biggrin-new: Especially janus' post - hilarious.

Nothing has changed however. Do some google searching on this outfit and you will soon conclude that it is a boiler-room type scam. There are many, many legitimate investments to put your hard-earned money into, including transparent, publically traded (=liquid) forestry-related companies. Note that they won't be advertising unrealistic returns however. 
You would be a fool to do otherwise.


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## Red Dog1 (Jun 27, 2017)

*GWD Investor*

I am at present a client and have been for several years. In my experience, GWD appears to be very poorly managed. The performance results and scheduled payouts have not been timely or according to their published conservative anticipated returns so far. Getting them to pay anything on my account has been difficult, to say the least


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

P.T. Barnum was right.


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## jammyjoe (Jun 27, 2017)

Was expecting returns early this year but GWD have stopped corresponding with me either by phone or email. So my expectations would be low at this present moment with them.


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