What Real Estate Investors Get Wrong About REITs

Jussi Askola, CFAInvesting Group LeaderFollow5ShareSavePlay(10min)CommentsSummaryResearch shows REITs outperform private real estate by 2–4% annually, with less risk and effort.Yet, investors will often favor private real estate due to many misconceptions.Here is what investors get wrong about REITs.High Yield Landlord members get exclusive access to our real-world portfolio. See all our investments here » Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images I believe that REITs (VNQ) are fundamentally better investments than private real estate because they offer higher returns with lower risk and require far less effort. This is not just my opinion. There areThis article was written byJussi Askola, CFA68.88K FollowersFollowJussi Askola is the President of Leonberg Capital, a value-oriented investment boutique that consults hedge funds, family offices, and private equity firms on REIT investing. He has authored award-winning academic papers on REIT investing, has passed all three CFA exams, and has built relationships with many top REIT executives. He is the leader of the investing group High Yield Landlord, where he shares his real-money REIT portfolio and transactions in real-time. Features of the group include: three portfolios (core, retirement, international), buy/sell alerts, and a chat room with direct access to Jussi and his team of analysts to ask questions. Learn more.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.