Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Investment Focus/Specialty: Timberland
Firm Summary
Forest Investment Associates L.P. ("FIA"), organized in 1986, is a timberland investment management organization providing
customized portfolio management services and professionally managed commingled funds for investors in timberland properties. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, FIA’s experienced team manages timberland portfolios for corporate pension plans, state and
municipal retirement systems, endowments, foundations and family offices.
Transaction Summary
FIA used the capital provided by AMF to fund an employee buyout, led by the firm’s senior management team, of its founder
and controlling shareholder. AMF’s capital solution provided a unique structure that allowed FIA’s management team to
purchase the firm while assuring that all equity in the company would continue to be owned by the current employees.
Partner Firm Perspective
"We decided at the outset that controlling our own destiny was vital to us," said Michael Kelly, FIA’s President.
"Maintaining 100% employee ownership was imperative, from both a business and cultural perspective. There is no
doubt that if we had enlisted a strategic buyer, we would have lost clients. Our independence is a reason that many clients
chose us, and it is a competitive advantage for us in growing our firm," Kelly noted.
"AMF’s solution fit our needs best, and was very flexible in managing the complexity of our particular situation. They skillfully handled late-hour changes that would have derailed most other organizations."