what is a timber investment management organization timo 
a timber investment management organization timo is a management group that aids institutional investors in managing their timberland investment portfolios a timo acts as a broker for institutional clients to find analyze and acquire investment properties that would best suit their clients similar to some reits once an investment property is chosen the timo is given the responsibility of actively managing the timberland to achieve adequate returns for the investors understanding timber investment management organizations timos timos developed in the 1970s after congress passed legislation called the employee retirement income security act which encouraged institutional investors to diversify their portfolios before the legislation investment in timberland properties was made chiefly by both large and small firms in the forestry industry by 2007 a study by the realtors land institute rli showed that approximately 60 billion in the land was managed by timos initially timos were viewed positively by forest conservationists who felt separating the owners of forest lands from the wood mills that use the lumber was a good idea later conservationists came to understand the timos were not looking to maximize the conservation of america s forest lands instead timos are focused on maximizing the financial return for investors according to a study published by the pinchot institute for conservation private forest lands are being converted for development at a rate of 6 000 acres per day forisk consulting tracks the largest timos in the united states the table below lists the 2021 top 10 u s timberland owners by acreage and compares this to their prior year rankings timos hold six of the top ten positions 