why invest in timberland 
according to rli timberland returns have compared favorably with stocks but with much less risk and volatility others say timberland returns have varied over time as the industry has matured returns were negative for a year after the financial crisis of 2008 but have since been increasing u s timberland investment performance is measured by the ncreif timberland property index according to ncreif investment returns from u s timberland between q2 2020 and q2 2021 was just 1 46 compared to 18 4 earned by the s p 500 in 2020 one year s performance is not enough to accurately measure long term investment performance but this data serves to demonstrate how annual returns differ for various asset classes it is true that timos can help institutional investors diversify their portfolios into u s timberlands but such real estate investments are probably best used as part of a well diversified portfolio with multiple asset classes such as stocks bonds and commodities in addition to wealth building opportunities created by market changes there are a number of other reasons to consider adding timber to a portfolio 