Timber

Reason for consideration of Timber
(as investment above and beyond conservation and watershed issues)

BusinessWeek 2/18/08

"What pension plans like about timberland, as opposed to timber stocks, is its relatively stable value. When timber prices fall, tree farmers can delay harvesting their crop, and during that time the value of the tree expands as it grows. "If a tree stays in the ground an extra year, there's just more of it next year, and the quality of the tree is better," says Jerry Miccolis, a Morristown (N.J.) financial adviser who invests in timber stocks. "Tree farmers can afford to wait till the price cycle comes their way." The typical tree grows 7% a year, and timberland's steady returns have been double that over the past two decades."