iREIT Daily

It Could Be Worse (Unless You’re in the U.K.)

Brad Thomas

467 postsMay 19, 2022

For the last several months, it seems concerns over inflation have infiltrated every economic news headline here at home. With so many factors influencing the American economy – from post-pandemic stress to geopolitical sanctions – it’s difficult to assess exactly how we got into this situation.

That is to say there’s a lot going on here with plenty of players, plays, and possibilities to take into consideration. Inflation is a complex issue with many economic implications. Everything from production costs to exchange rates, wage growth to war fallout, factor into the equation.

The easiest way to explain it here in the U.S. would be to look to the enormous amounts of stimulus injected into the economy the last two years. That devalued the dollar and exacerbated labor issues – two major results that can’t be ignored.

But that’s hardly the only things we need to consider when inflation is extending far beyond our shores. With global supply chain issues, surging demand, and even global agricultural deficits dominating certain geographies, America isn’t even experiencing the worst of it anymore.

Consider what I mentioned yesterday: how the U.K.’s annual rate of inflation jumped to a forty-year high of 9%. That’s the largest level recorded by an industrialized nation since inflation increases kicked off last year.

The Wall Street Journal writes:

“[U.K.] consumer prices in April were 9% higher than a year earlier, a jump from 7% in March and the highest inflation rate since March 1982, the Office for National Statistics said. The pace is now the highest recorded by one of the Group of Seven rich economies in about a year.
“The pace is also above the 8.5% annual rate of inflation recorded by the U.S. in March, which had been the sharpest rise since the global inflation surge began with the reopening of many economies in early 2021 as the pandemic eased.”

And Germany and France are also experiencing similar trajectories.

So what gives?

Well, yesterday we discussed how signs of increased retail activity have shown we’re still a ways from peak inflation. I know that’s not what you want to hear once, much less twice. But that’s the entirely analytical conclusion I’ve reached all the same.

If I could give you one key piece of advice to help protect you from this global predicament, it would be to invest in yourself. Get educated on the stock market and learn new skills to inflation-proof your income.

That should set you up for financial success… and even give you back the sense of agency you might be losing amidst all this uncertainty.

More Non-REIT News to Know About

Martin Shkreli – aka the Pharma Bro, who hiked up prices for HIV medication Daraprim by over 4,000% in 2015 – appears to be free from the pen as of yesterday.

Shkreli was serving a seven-year federal prison sentence for several counts of securities fraud. But how time flies, as he was seen in the backseat of a buddy’s car via a viral tweet yesterday morning.

Twitter user Edmond Sullivan shared a selfie with the infamous hedge fund manager captioned, “Picked up this guy hitchhiking. Says he’s famous.”

Later, Shkreli took to Facebook with his own solo selfie and caption: “Getting out of real prison is easier than getting out of Twitter prison.”

So what can we expect from a man who was once the biggest villain of the investment world? Will Elon Musk grant him freedom in the Twittersphere, or will he be silenced into obscurity?

For that matter, will Elon Musk still purchase Twitter (TWTR) at all?

Only time will tell.

The World According to REITs

Getting back to that abominable “I” word…

All this talk of global inflation has me even more focused on putting real estate investment trusts (REITs) to good use. That includes, of course, big data handlers like the ones below…

American Tower

American Tower (AMT) is an owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. But these days, it seems to be running on a totally different ticker trajectory than many other communications stocks.

With a six-point gain in the last five days, this worldwide cellular tower REIT is looking to be as resilient an asset as you can get in this economy. In Q1, it saw a total revenue increase of 23.2%, a net income increase of 7.7%, and a property revenue increase of 22.1%.

Clearly, communication is as important as ever in 2022.

Iron Mountain

You may know Iron Mountain (IRM) for its shredding services, but this unique company is also one of the world’s foremost data-center REITs. As such, it has unmatched scale in the data storage game and a market value upwards of $12 billion.

May’s market decline was no match for Iron Mountain either so far. Iron Mountain has gained nearly 20% since March, boasting a first-quarter net income of $41.7 million. With a 5.4% dividend yield, this REIT can also be a great way to pad your wallet with a little passive income.

Just, as always, make sure you’re getting in at a reasonable price. No matter how heavy-hitting a company can be, it’s almost never worth overpaying for.

Happy Investing

Brad Thomas

467 posts

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Brad Thomas is Senior Research Analyst at iREIT and CEO of Wide Moat Research LLC. With over 30 years of real estate experience, he is also long-time Editor of Forbes Real Estate Investor, a monthly subscription-based newsletter that dives deep into the vast world of profitable properties, and since 2021, he has served as an adjunct professor at New York University.

Thomas has also been featured on or in Forbes magazine, Kiplinger's, U.S. News and World Report, Money, NPR, Institutional Investor, GlobeStreet, CNN, Newsmax, and Fox. And he was the #1 contributing analyst on Seeking Alpha in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 based on both page views and number of followers.

Thomas is the recently-published author of The Intelligent REIT Investor Guide (2021), co-author of The Intelligent REIT Investor (2016), and he wrote The Trump Factor: Unlocking The Secrets Behind The Trump Empire (2016) - all available on Amazon.

Thomas received a bachelor of science in business/economics from Presbyterian College and is married with five wonderful kids.

Off Target: The Truth About Consumer Trends

REIT Mutual Fund	Symbol
Alpine Realty Income and Growth Fund	AIGYX, AIAGX
American Century Real Estate Fund	REAIX, REACX, AREEX, AREWX, ARYCX, AREDX
Real Estate Securities Fund	MRESX
AR Capital Real Estate Income Fund	ARIAX, ARICX, ARIPX
AssetMark Real Estate Securities Fund	AFREX
Aston/Harrison Street Real Estate Fund	AARIX, ARFCX
Baron Real Estate Fund	BREIX, BREFX
BlackRock Real Estate Securities	BIREX, BAREX, BCREX
Brookfield U.S. Listed Real Estate Fund	BRUAX, BRUCX, BRUIX, BRUYX
CGM Realty Fund	CGMRX
West Loop Realty Fund	REIIX, REIAX, REICX
Cohen & Steers Institutional Realty Shares	CSRIX
Cohen & Steers Realty Income Fund	CSEIX, CSDIX, CSBIX, CSCIX
Cohen & Steers Realty Shares	CSRSX
Columbia Real Estate Equity Fund	CREAX, CREIX, CRRVX, CRERX, CREEX, CRRFX, CREWX, CRECX, CREBX
Compass EMP REC Enhanced Volatility Weighted Fund	CWRAX, CWRIX, CWRTX, CWRCX
Davis Real Estate Fund	RPFRX, DREYX, DRECX, DREBX
Delaware Real Estate Investment Trust Portfolio II	DPRTX, DPRBX
Delaware Real Estate Investment Trust Portfolio	DPREX, DPRSX, DPRRX, DPRCX
DFA Real Estate Securities Portfolio	DFREX
Dunham Real Estate Stock Fund	DAREX, DNREX, DCREX
DWS RREEF Real Estate Securities Fund	RRRRX, RRREX, RRRAX, RRRSX, RRRBX, RRRCX
DWS RREEF Real Estate Securities Income Fund	REFAX, REFCX, REFIX, REFSX
Eaton Vance Real Estate Fund	EAREX, EIREX
EII Realty Securities Fund	EIIRX
Fidelity Advisor Real Estate Fund	FHEIX, FHEAX, FHETX, FHECX, FHEBX
Fidelity Advisor Real Estate Income Fund	FRIRX, FRIQX, FRINX, FRIOX
Fidelity Real Estate Income Fund	FRIFX
Fidelity Real Estate Investment Portfolio	FRESX
Fidelity Spartan Real Estate Index Fund	FSRNX, FRXIX, FSRVX
Fidelity Series Real Estate Equity Fund	FREDX, FREFX
Fidelity Series Real Estate Income Fund	FSREX, FSRWX
Forward Real Estate Long/Short Fund	KSRYX, FRLSX, FFSRX, KSRAX, KSRCX, KSRBX
Forward Real Estate Fund	FPREX, FFREX, KREAX, KRECX
Forward Select Income Fund	KIFYX, FSIMX, FFSLX, KIFAX, KIFBX, KIFCX
Franklin Real Estate Securities Fund	FREEX, FRLAX, FRRSX, FSERX
GMO Real Estate Fund	GMORX
Goldman Sachs Real Estate Securities Fund	GREIX, GRETX, GREAX, GRESX, GRERX, GREBX, GRECX
Great-West Real Estate Fund	MXREX
Heitman REIT Fund	OARTX, OBRTX
ING Real Estate Fund	CRARX, IREWX, IDROX, CLARX, CRWRX, CRCRX, CRBCX
INVESCO Real Estate Fund	REINX, IARFX, IARIX, IARYX, IARAX, IARRX, IARCX, AARBX
Ivy Real Estate Securities Fund	IRSAX, IREIX, IRSYX, IRSRX, IREEX, IRSCX, IRSBX
John Hancock Real Estate Securities Fund	JIREX
Johnson Realty Fund	JRLTX
J.P.Morgan Realty Income Fund	URTLX, JRIRX, URTAX, URTBX, URTCX
J.P. Morgan Security Capital U.S. Core Real Estate Securities Fund	CEEAX, CEERX, CEEFX, CEESX, CEECX
J.P. Morgan U.S. Real Estate Fund	SUSIX
Lazard U.S. Realty Equity Portfolio	LREIX, LREOX
Lazard U.S. Realty Income Portfolio	LRIIX, LRIOX
Manning & Napier Real Estate Series	MNRIX, MNREX
Morgan Stanley Institutional U.S. Real Estate Portfolio	MSUSX, MUSDX, MSULX, MURSX
Natixis AEW Real Estate Fund	NRFAX, NRFYX, NRFBX, NRFCX, NRFNX
Neuberger Berman Real Estate Fund	NBRIX, NBRFX, NREAX, NRERX, NRECX, NRREX
Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund	FREAX, FARCX, FRSSX, FREBX, FRLCX, FREGX
Oppenheimer Real Estate Fund	OREAX, OREIX, OREYX, ORENX, OREBX, ORECX
PHOCAS Real Estate Fund	PHREX
PIMCO RealEstateRealReturn Strategy Fund	PRRSX, PETPX, PETAX, PETDX, PETCX, PETBX
Pioneer Real Estate Shares	PWREX, PYREX, PCREX, PBREX
Principal Real Estate Securities Fund	PIREX, PIRPX, PREPX, PRETX, PREJX, PRRAX, PRERX, PRENX, PRAEX, PRCEX, PRLEX
ProFunds Real Estate UltraSector ProFund	REPIX
Prudential Select Real Estate Fund	SREAX
Prudential U.S. Real Estate Fund	PJEAX, PJEZX, PJECX, PJEBX
REMS Real Estate Income 50/50 Portfolio	RREIX
REMS Real Estate Value-Opportunity Fund	HLRRX, HLPPX
Rydex Real Estate Fund	RYREX, RYHRX, RYCRX
SA Real Estate Securities Fund	SAREX
SEI Institutional Mgd Real Estate Fund	SETAX, SEIRX
Spirit of America Real Estate Income & Growth Fund	SOAAX
SSgA Clarion Real Estate Fund	SSREX
Stratton Real Estate Fund	STMDX
T.Rowe Price Real Estate Fund	TRREX, PAREX
TIAA-CREF Real Estate Securities Fund	TIREX, TRRPX, TRRSX, TCREX
Vanguard REIT Index Fund	VGSNX, VGRSX, VGSLX, VGSIX
Virtus Real Estate Securities Fund	PHRAX, PHRIX, PHRCX, PHRBX

REIT ETF	Symbol
Flex Shares	ASET
Wisdom Tree Global Ex-US	DRW
S&P 500 Equal Weight	EWRE
iShares FTSE Industrial/Office	FNIO
MSCI Real Estate Index	FREL
S&P REIT Index	FRI
First Trust S&P REIT	FRI
iShares Real Estate 50	FTY
Flexshares Global	GQRE
iShares Cohen & Streers	ICF
iShares International Developed RE	IFGL
iShares US RE	IYR
Premium Yield Equity REIT	KBWY
ETRACS Monthly Pay 2x Leverage	MORL
Market Vector Mortgage	MORT
iShares Global REIT	REET
iShares FTSE Mortgage	REM
iShares Residential	REZ
IQ US Real Estate Small Cap	ROOF
iShares FTSE NAREIT Retail	RTL
DOW Jones Global RE	RWO
SPDR Dow Jones	RWR
Schwab US REIT	SCHH
Super Dividend REIT	SRET
ProShares Ultra RE	URE
Vanguard REIT	VNQ
Vanguard Global ex-US	VNQI
iShares International Developed	WPS
Wilshire US REIT	WREI
Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure RE	SRVR
Pacer Benchmark Industrial RE	INDS
Pacer Benchmark Retail RE	RTL
Hoya Capital Housing	HOMZ
NetLease Corporate RE	NETL

REIT Name	Ticker	Annual Increases/yr
Federal Realty	FRT	51
Universal Health Realty	UHT	33
National Retail Properties	NNN	29
Realty Income	O	27
Tanger Outlets	SKT	26
Urstadt Biddle	UBA	25
Essex Property Trust	ESS	25
W.P.Carey	WPC	22
National Health Investors	NHI	17
Equity Lifestyle	ELS	15
Digital Realty	DLR	15

It Could Be Worse (Unless You’re in the U.K.)

Brad Thomas

467 postsMay 19, 2022

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It Could Be Worse (Unless You’re in the U.K.)

467 postsMay 19, 2022

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