Real estate invest trust reits?
Investing in REITs can add some diversification to your portfolio and give you access to passive income, liquidity and excellent long-term returns. However, taxes can be more expensive with REITs compared to other investment options, and there are still risks involved with the real estate market.
Investing in REITs can add some diversification to your portfolio and give you access to passive income, liquidity and excellent long-term returns. However, taxes can be more expensive with REITs compared to other investment options, and there are still risks involved with the real estate market.
To qualify as a REIT, a company must have the bulk of its assets and income connected to real estate investment and must distribute at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders annually in the form of dividends.
Modeled after mutual funds, REITs pool the capital of numerous investors. This makes it possible for individual investors to earn dividends from real estate investments—without having to buy, manage, or finance any properties themselves.
At least 90% of net ordinary taxable income must be distributed and 100% is required to avoid REIT-level tax. REITs can't be closely held, as defined, and must have at least 100 shareholders. A vast and nuanced array of organizational, operational, asset, and income tests must be met.
This is the biggest and most important mistake that REIT investors keep on making. They see REITs as "income vehicles" and therefore, they will select their investments based on their dividend yield. In their mind, the higher the better. But in reality, the dividend is just a capital allocation decision.
More than a year of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve pushed down returns on real estate investment trusts, or REITs. While higher rates negatively impacted nearly every sector of the economy in 2022 and most of 2023, real estate was hit especially hard.
“I recommend REITs within a managed portfolio,” Devine said, noting that most investors should limit their REIT exposure to between 2 percent and 5 percent of their overall portfolio. Here again, a financial professional can help you determine what percentage of your portfolio you should allocate toward REITs, if any.
While they aren't listed on stock exchanges, non-traded REITs are required to register with the SEC and are subject to more oversight than private REITs. According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit), non-traded REITs typically require a minimum investment of $1,000 to $2,500.
Many investors believe a reasonable portfolio allocation to REITs is between 5 percent and 15 percent, and there are two research-based factors that support the idea that allocations to REITs in an optimally-diversified portfolio may be at the higher end of the scale for many investors.
Can you really make money from REITs?
REITs are true total-return investments. They provide high dividend yields along with moderate long-term capital appreciation.
Since most non-traded REITs are illiquid, there are often restrictions to redeeming and selling shares. While a REIT is still open to public investors, investors may be able to sell their shares back to the REIT. However, this sale usually comes at a discount; leaving only about 70% to 95% of the original value.
However, our review of REIT balance sheets and debt suggests that REITs are well-positioned for economic uncertainty in 2023 because of their strong balance sheets. They are entering the new year with leverage near historical lows, and well-termed, mostly fixed-rate debt and very low current interest expense.
According to the data, REITs have outperformed stocks over the long term, delivering an 11.9% average annual return from 1972 to 2021 (compared to 10.7% for the S&P 500). At that rate of return, a monthly investment of $300 in REITs would grow into $1 million in about 30 years.
To qualify as a REIT a company must: Invest at least 75% of its total assets in real estate. Derive at least 75% of its gross income from rents from real property, interest on mortgages financing real property or from sales of real estate.
Individuals can invest in REITs in a variety of different ways, including purchasing shares of publicly traded REIT stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. REITs also play a growing role in defined benefit and defined contribution investment plans.
REITs should generally be considered long-term investments
In many cases, this can take around 10 years to occur. And with publicly traded REITs that fluctuate with the stock market, Jhangiani recommends holding onto them for at least three years.
Symbol | Fund name | 1-year return |
---|---|---|
BREUX | Baron Real Estate R6 | 24.69% |
BREIX | Baron Real Estate Institutional | 24.09% |
GREIX | Goldman Sachs Real Estate Securities | 18.17% |
CREYX | Columbia Real Estate Equity Ins3 | 17.45% |
If you are interested in a real estate investment that is reliable, hands-off and offers dividends, REITs could be the answer. If you're looking for a higher-risk – but high-potential – investment or want to be able to invest in specific companies you admire, buying individual stocks could be the answer.
After a lackluster performance for the majority of 2023, the Fed's latest decision to keep interest rates steady and an indication of three rate cuts in 2024 are likely to make real estate investment trusts (REITs) an attractive investment option for many.
Do REITs do well in a recession?
REITs historically perform well during and after recessions | Pensions & Investments.
The strong fourth quarter carried over to an 11.3% return for 2023 as a whole for the REIT-focused index, underperforming the S&P 500's 26.3% return for the year. All Dow Jones US Real Estate sector indexes closed the fourth quarter in the black.
With respect to financial advisors, the just completed Chatham Partners survey found that 83% of financial advisors invest their clients in REITs and the most frequently referenced attribute they cite is “portfolio diversification.” As exhibited below, advisors recommend allocations to REITs in the range of 4% to 12% ...
Beginning with its second taxable year, a REIT must meet two ownership tests: it must have at least 100 shareholders (the 100 Shareholder Test) and five or fewer individuals cannot own more than 50% of the value of the REIT's stock during the last half of its taxable year (the 5/50 Test).
REITs provide a much simpler way to invest in real estate and earn consistent income through dividends, but they confer less control, and their upside tends to be lower than that of rental properties.
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