About folium capital

ABOUT US

Folium Capital invests in forest and agriculture assets across four continents, leveraging deep sector expertise and strong local partnerships to manage natural resources for long-term value and sustainable outcomes. Folium’s tenured team - with more than a century of combined investment expertise – manage more than USD 1B in assets across multiple portfolios.

Folium specializes in skillful risk analysis and management, combined with an opportunistic approach, to generate strong real returns. Our portfolios are expected to exhibit low correlation with other financial assets. We invest across diverse geographies, forest types, and food crops. The team’s commitment to sustainability and in-depth ESG tracking support our efforts to drive positive outcomes for people and the planet, while forming a foundation for continuous practice improvement.

Our firm is exclusively focused on the asset classes we know best: forestry and agriculture. Building sustainable value through the remarkable natural process of plant and tree growth, while optimizing land and water assets to capture those benefits, is our sole business. Our team chose the firm name Folium, which is the Latin word for “leaf,” expressly to illustrate this focused investment strategy.

OUR TEAM

A stable, long-term team for a long-term investment sector

Folium was founded in 2016 by Managing Partners Alvaro Aguirre, Oliver Grantham and Andy Wiltshire (since retired), who have invested together in the asset class for 20 years.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Folium’s team now consists of four partners and other investment and management professionals, offering a powerful mix of experience, skills, and expertise in their asset types and geographies. We leverage the collective strength from almost two decades of working together to effectively manage risk, deploy capital, direct operating partners, and deliver attractive results to investors.

Folium is wholly owned by the firm’s active partners – those who work to find, acquire, develop, manage, optimize, and hold or sell quality forest and farms for our investors. The firm has no silent partners, and all of Folium’s owners expect to remain active in the business for the foreseeable future.

MANAGING PARTNERS

Alvaro Aguirre

  • Managing Partner | Boston

    Harvard Management Company: 2003-2015 | Managing Director, Natural Resources | SVP, Natural Resources

    UBS Global Asset Management | Director, Timber Group

    Forestal Bio Bio S.A. (Chile)

    Bioforest Arauco (Chile)

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    Bachelor of Science in Forestry and Forest Engineering | Universidad de Chile

    Master of Business Administration | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Oliver Grantham

  • Managing Partner | San Francisco

    Harvard Management Company: 2004-2015 | SVP, Natural Resources

    Sustainable Forest Systems | Manager of Operations, FSC forestry operation (LATAM)

    ————

    Bachelor of Arts in Economics and in Anthropology | Brown University

    Master of Business Administration and Master of Forestry | Yale University

INVESTMENT & MANAGEMENT TEAM

Sheila Matthews

  • Chief Administrative Officer | Boston

    Folium Capital | COO and CRO

    Harvard Management Company | Senior Analyst, External Investments

    Manager, Public and Private Equity Operations Groups

    BTM (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi) | Manager, Financial Reporting

    Gerald P. Bonder & Co | CPA on Accounting, Tax and Audit teams

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Accounting | Boston College

    Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the MA Society of Certified Public Accountants | 1995-2007

J. Scott Estey

  • Partner & Managing Director | Boston

    Hancock Natural Resource Group | Director of Client Account Management

    PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting | Principal Consultant for the Forest and Paper Group

    Jaakko Pöyry Consulting | Senior Vice President

    Scott Paper, Natural Resource Division | Forest Engineer

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Forestry | University of Maine

    Master of Business Administration | Simon Business School at the University of Rochester

    Master of Forestry | Yale University

Lance Reinold

  • Partner & Chief Risk Officer | Boston

    Harvard Management Company | VP, Natural Resources

    State Street Bank | Fund Accountant

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | Bryant University

    Master of Business Administration | Bentley University

David Miles

  • Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer | Boston

    Convexity Capital Management | Partner and Chief Operating Officer

    Harvard Management Company | Manager of Derivatives/Operations/Accounting group

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | Merrimack College

    Master of Business Administration | Suffolk University

Christian Mora

  • Senior Vice President Scientific Research | Boston

    Fibraconsult | Forestry Consultant for Folium Capital

    FPFI Consulting | Forestry Consultant for Harvard Management Company

    Bioforest-Arauco (Chile) | Senior Research Scientist, Forest Productivity and Wood Properties Sections

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Forest Engineering | Universidad de Chile

    Master of Science | North Carolina State University

    PhD | University of Georgia

Jonathan Herndon

  • Senior Vice President | Boston

    Harvard Management Company | VP, Natural Resources, Senior Associate, Natural Resources, Supervisor of Accounting Operations, Senior Trading Analyst

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | Bucknell University

    Master of Business Administration | Boston University

Thomas Mehl

  • Senior Vice President of Asset Management | Sydney, Australia

    Cape Almonds | Co-founder and Director

    RussellStone Group | Agricultural Investment Manager

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics & Bachelor of Commerce in Investment Management | University of Pretoria, South Africa

    Master of Business Administration | University of Cape Town, South Africa which was augmented with an exchange program to Melbourne Business School, Australia

    Masters in Advanced Management | Yale University

Bryan Grossi

  • Vice President | Boston

    Folium Capital | Natural Resources Consultant

    Chimera Securities | Proprietary Equity Trader

    ————

    Bachelor of Science in Business Administration | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    CFA Charterholder

EXTERNAL CONSULTANTS & ADVISORS

Lee Allen

  • Senior Advisor | North Carolina

    ProFOR Consulting | Owner and Founder

    North Carolina State University, Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources | C.A. Schenck Distinguished Professor and Co-Director of the Forest Nutrition Cooperative

    ————

    Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Forestry | University of Maine

    Ph.D. in Forestry and Soils | North Carolina State University

    Barrington Moore Memorial Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Profession of Forest Biology | Society of American Foresters

TEAM HISTORY

The Folium team has been working and investing together in natural resources for decades. Prior to forming Folium in 2016, the majority of our team worked together at Harvard Management Company, which manages Harvard University’s endowment and related financial assets, for more than a decade. We invite you to explore our long-running history as a team below.

  • 1993

    Folium COO & CCO David Miles joined Harvard Management Company. At the time, Alvaro Aguirre, Oliver Grantham, and Andy Wiltshire were working in forestry investment leadership positions in South America, Central America, and New Zealand, respectively.

  • 1997

    Folium CAO Sheila Matthews and Partner & Chief Risk Officer Lance Reinold joined Harvard Management Company.

  • 1999

    Folium SVP Jonathan Herndon joined Harvard Management Company.

  • 2001

    Andy Wiltshire joined Harvard Management Company to manage the timberland direct investment portfolio, valued at USD 1.7B.

  • 2003

    Folium Managing Partner Alvaro Aguirre joined Harvard Management Company (HMC) as part of Andy Wiltshire’s investment team. Folium Managing Partner Oliver Grantham began consulting work for HMC.

  • 2004

    Folium Managing Partner Oliver Grantham officially joined Harvard Management Company.

  • 2004-2014

    Alvaro Aguirre, Oliver Grantham, and Andy Wiltshire, alongside other future members of the Folium team, expanded Harvard Management Company’s natural resources portfolio globally – successfully investing in new types of forestry and agriculture assets and in new geographies.

  • 2015

    Alvaro Aguirre, Oliver Grantham, and Andy Wiltshire departed their roles at Harvard Management Company.

  • 2016

    Alvaro Aguirre, Oliver Grantham, and Andy Wiltshire founded Folium Capital to build on their success from the previous 13 years. Sheila Matthews joined as Folium's first employee. Bryan Grossi and Prof. Lee Allen PhD also joined, as the firm successfully completed the first closing of its Timber and Agriculture Fund I with USD 150M from seed investors.

  • 2017

    Partner & Managing Director J. Scott Estey joined Folium from Hancock Natural Resources Group (now called Manulife Investment Management Timber & Agriculture). Lance Reinold and Jonathan Herndon re-joined the team after 20 and 17 years, respectively, at Harvard Management Company.

  • 2018

    The Folium team completed the final closing of the Timber Fund I and Agriculture Fund I with USD 680M in commitments, 36% above the original target of USD 500M.

  • 2020

    David Miles joined Folium as COO & CCO, after 15 years in his post-Harvard Management Company role at Convexity Capital Management.

  • 2021

    Folium Capital launched its first Separately Managed Account (SMA) focused on agriculture.

  • 2024

    Folium Capital launched its second SMA focused on agriculture.