Financial Planning

REITs

• Cohen & Steers Launches Real Assets Fund in Bid to Outpace Inflation

  March 14, 2012

  The actively managed fund will hold commodity, natural resources and REIT securities. It will diversify those with about a 10% allocation to gold, and a fixed-income piece.

• FINRA: David Lerner Misled Investors About REIT Risks, Values

  January 31, 2012

  FINRA has filed an enforcement complaint against David Lerner, the operator of a brokerage aimed at retail investors, claiming he misled investors when he tried to quell customer concern about an action taken against his firm for its marketing of real estate securities.

• Utility, Health Care Funds Among Best Investments in 2011

  January 3, 2012

  The best-performing mutual funds of 2011 invested in large-cap, dividend-paying stocks—putting utility, real estate investment trust, health care and consumer staple funds at the top of the heap.

• Decoding Mortgage REITs

  December 7, 2011

  To see if mortgage REITs might be right for your clients, analyze these companies like the levered bond funds they really are.

• Advisor's Guide to Non-Listed REITs in Today's Market

  September 27, 2011

  Presented by Financial Planning | Sponsored by the Investment Program Association (IPA)
  

  Moderated by Ilana Polyak, contributing editor for Financial Planning with guest speaker Matt Tramel
  
  

  Today's financial markets are giving investors a wild ride. Advisors may be looking at asset classes that can help them dampen volatility in client portfolios. Non-listed real estate investment trusts have low correlations to other securities and can be an effective way to add ballast to a portfolio. Though not as familiar to many investors as traditional traded REITs, these investments are gaining attention in recent years. Not only are investors interested in non-listed REITs' diversification benefits, but today's low-interest rate environment make the instruments' high, current income attractive to many. As the industry matures, non-listed REITs are becoming more transparent, further helping advisors gain an insight into this unique investment.
  
  Tune in now to learn more.

• Sunny Outlook for REITs Despite Housing Woes

  July 22, 2011

  Cohen & Steers, an asset manager specializing in real estate, predicts that U.S. REITs will boost dividends by 10% a year for the next five years.

• Housing Market Improving Despite Foreclosures

  July 13, 2011

  Home sales and housing starts began turning up in early 2009, according to the State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. First-time buyers and government help drove an increase in existing home sales, while record foreclosures continued.

• U.S. REITs Beating S&P 500 So Far in 2011

  July 7, 2011

  REITs continue to beat the S&P 500, according to NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. In the first half of 2011, U.S. REITs were up almost 10%, compared to 6% for the S&P 500.

• IndexIQ Rolls Out Small-Cap Real Estate ETF

  June 14, 2011

  IndexIQ this week launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) for investors looking for exposure to small-cap real estate stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

• A Closer Look at Non-Traded REITs Q&A With Stacy Chitty, Managing Partner of Blue Vault Partners

  June 1, 2011

  The difference between non-traded and private REITs depends on the real estate objective. Private REITs are Regulation D private placement offerings, which do not require a public registration filing. The shares can only be purchased by accredited investors and typically offer the potential for larger overall returns.

• A Place for REITs

  June 1, 2011

  Some financial planners take a strategic approach to REITs while others use them tactically, with some seeking the best of both worlds