Chung-Hong Fu: Managing Director Economic Research and Analysis DOWNLOAD (578Kb PDF) The NCREIF Timberland Index is a topic of increasing interest to institutional investors and investment consultants. In the past several years, while the public markets have experienced quite a bit of turbulence, questions have been raised about the veracity of the Index and how [...]

Tom Johnson: Managing Director DOWNLOAD (716Kb PDF) An investor’s goal for any asset class is to determine what type of exposure is appropriate given risk and return objectives. Traditionally, style classifications help investors set expectations about how a particular manager or strategy will perform in a given market environment. This determination provides the strategic clarity that [...]

Chung-Hong Fu: Managing Director Economic Research and Analysis DOWNLOAD (215Kb PDF) As we head into 2010, what has struck many investment professionals about the recession we have witnessed is how broad and deep the correction has been. Virtually no asset class has been unscathed. In this context, many look to the NCREIF timberland index and [...]

Chung-Hong Fu: Managing Director Economic Research and Analysis DOWNLOAD (2.94Mb PDF) Markets for ecosytem services encompass 1) carbon credits; 2) conservation easements; 3) mitigation banking; and 4) recreational leasing. As demographics and public policy continue to shift, timberland bundle of rights which include these option values are growing in importance. In “Making Trees Greener: Opportunities [...]

Chung-Hong Fu: Managing Director Economic Research and Analysis DOWNLOAD (324Kb PDF) Institutional investors and even some managers will try to link biological characteristics of timber to fundamental investment characteristics such as risk, return, and investment term. How appropriate are these linkages though? Does investing in more mature timber actually lower the risk of timberland investing? [...]