The New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF) has taken the value of its timber assets to NZ$300m with the addition of three investments to its portfolio.
State investor NZSF, which was set up to help pay for the future costs of the country’s pensions, has bought two forests in the US and management rights to a 14,500-acre mature radiata pine property near Wairakei in central North Island.
The American acquisitions include 7,300ha of hemlock and Douglas fir in Washington, plus 18,220ha of loblolly pine in Texas.
The assets were acquired from the Hancock Timber Resource Group, which recently acquired 376,547ha from Harvard Management Company. Hancock will continue to manage all three properties.
Earlier this year, NZSF said it intended to allocate 5% of its assets to timber. So far, it has achieved 4%.
