The IRA Steps Out

摘要

Philip D. King, an insurance agent and volunteer fire chief in Bardwell, Ky., wasn't satisfied with the money his IRA was earning in mutual funds. So last year King channeled a chunk of his retirement dollars into an unconventional venue: He bought 246 acres of timberland in Hickman County, Ky. He and his sister, Janine, who invested from her own IRA, paid a total of $180,000 for the land previously owned by MeadWestvaco, a packaging producer. King estimates the thousands of trees and underlying property will be worth as much as $ 1.2 million in 20 years. "My IRA was earning a return like a certificate of deposit," says King, 36, who now joins the roster of individuals and private owners who control three-quarters, or 350 million acres, of the nation's woodland. He likes the tangible nature of this asset: "You can go out and walk on it and say, 'I own this.'"