Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System allocates US$100M to timberland, hires Forest Investment Associates to manage

Lorena Madrigal

LOS ANGELES , September 26, 2011 (Forestweb) – Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) has allocated US$100 million to timberland, and is appointing Atlanta, Georgia-based Forest Investment Associates as its timberland manager, Pensions & Investments (P&I) reported Sept. 26.

The addition of timberland was made for inflation hedges and diversification, said the pension fund's Chief Investment Officer Karl Koch.

This will be the first timberland investment for IPERS, which is currently valued at $21.7 billion.

Timberland acquisitions will follow a strict strategy as the pension fund hopes to avoid overpriced assets, Koch said, adding the mandates will be fully funded in a few years due to valuation levels in certain markets.

IPERS also hired UBS AgriVest to manage $100 million of farmland.

The primary source of this article is Pensions & Investments (P&I), New York, New York, on Sept. 26, 2011.

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