Investing in forests and timber: an investment theme becomes a trend

One year on the Swiss stock exchange

The product invests in leading forestry and timber companies that support sustainable forest management and keep CO₂ out of the atmosphere for the long term in timber products. According to the article, it returned 5.35 percent in 2023, a difficult year for equity markets. It is listed under the symbol TIMBRZ and can be bought through any bank or trading venue, from a few hundred francs. The article is illustrated with, among others, the «Rocket» timber high-rise in Winterthur.

The forestry and timber industry has enormous potential to decarbonise the building sector and investment portfolios.

The cubic metre as climate performance

Reichmuth describes timber as a scalable building material that removes CO₂ from the atmosphere in the forest and keeps it locked away in buildings for a very long time. Every cubic metre of timber used in construction holds one tonne of CO₂, he says, and avoids a further half tonne of emissions from steel and concrete products. According to the article, sustainably managed forests also support biodiversity. Strong demand for climate solutions and tighter requirements in the building sector put the industry in a new light for investors.

The same advertorial appeared in August 2024 in the trade journals Berner Wald and Wald und Holz, which refer to a basket of 23 listed European and North American forestry and timber companies.

How Timber Carbon sees it

The product reflects the timber construction chain on the capital market, and the underlying index is described in the Holzrevue Finanzblog. Timber Carbon, launched in 2026 as a spin-off of Timber Finance, quantifies, certifies and monetises the carbon removed in mass timber buildings as carbon removal credits on the voluntary carbon market.