Another problem has been that investors have been pulling out
of real estate mutual funds, many of which invested in residential and commercial real estate at the same time.
«Not only are financial advisors considering the real estate portfolio of their clients in addition to equities and other investments, but we've also seen growth in
global real estate mutual funds and global real estate investment trusts (REITs).
Retail investors plowed nearly $ 3 billion into
real estate mutual funds in the first three quarters of 2003 after dumping $ 3.4 billion into the funds for all of last year, according to Steve Sakwa, a REIT analyst with Merrill Lynch.
«I'm looking for 5 to 10 percent growth in the dividend each year,» says Matt Avery, who manages $ 400 million in two
real estate mutual funds for San Mateo, Calif. - based Franklin Resources Inc..
Mark Quam, CEO of Versus Capital, which just launched a private
equity real estate mutual fund, said REIT providers are going to have to show their real yield on cash flow.
In the United States, there were 104 global
real estate mutual funds by the 2012, up from 50 at the end of 2007, according to S&P Capital IQ, the research arm of Standard & Poor's.
Cohen & Steers Realty Shares, the
largest real estate mutual fund at nearly $ 700 million in assets, returned to investors just 7.5 percent in the first nine months of the year — a fraction of the 29.7 percent total return of the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
It's no wonder considering that his fund, E.I.I. International Property Fund, established in July 2004, ranked as the second - best
performing real estate mutual fund in 2005 with a return of 21.36 percent, according to Lipper.
In 2002, $ 2.41 billion flowed
into real estate mutual funds, according to AMG Data Services, compared with only $ 307 million in the same period a year earlier.
Read about four of the best global
real estate mutual funds, which invest in the securities of real estate companies or real estate investment trusts (REITs).
b. Investing in property one would need to invest crores and lakhs, but then investing in
real estate mutual funds you can invest as low as Rs. 500 per month and still gain the profits from the real estate.
When choosing
a real estate mutual fund, it is important to understand the composition of the fund's investment portfolio.
The second method of investing in real estate is
a real estate mutual fund.
A February report by Connecticut - based Mercury Partners LLC found that
real estate mutual funds have reduced their holdings in apartment real estate investment trusts (REITs) to just 11.9 % of portfolios vs. the 18.1 % weighting that the multifamily sector comprises on the overall NAREIT Equity Index.
Evaluating Passive Real Estate Investments - TICS (Tenants in Common), 1031 exchanges, REITS,
Real Estate Mutual Funds, LLCs, Limited Partnerships.
Sam Lieber, senior portfolio manager and CEO of New York - based Alpine Management and Research, which runs three
real estate mutual funds, says that publicly owned real estate is definitely subject to the whims of the equity market.
Charles Schwab & Co., which recently launched the Schwab Global
Real Estate mutual fund, says investors should have about 3 percent to 5 percent in overseas property, noting that adding foreign real estate to a portfolio increases returns and reduces overall risk.
To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of
all real estate mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.