iREIT Daily

We Might Be Seeing Made in America Again

Brad Thomas

467 postsAugust 3, 2022

The international shipping strains that came with the Covid shutdowns were truly eye-opening for the American industrial sector. Suddenly fully aware of our overseas manufacturing partners, we found ourselves dealing with shipping backlogs and product scarcities across nearly every segment of the American retail market.

Even today, we’re experiencing extended logistics delays from Asia. Some of these supply sources are proving so sketchy that businesses are rethinking their cheap overseas options…

American executives are even rallying around the idea of bringing everything back home.

Bloomberg reported:

“Rattled by the most recent wave of strict Covid lockdowns in China, the long-time manufacturing hub of choice for multinationals, CEOs have been highlighting plans to relocate production – using the buzzwords onshoring, reshoring, or nearshoring – at a greater clip this year than they even did in the first six months of the pandemic, according to a review of earnings call and conference presentations transcribed by Bloomberg. (Compared to pre-pandemic periods, these references are up over 1,000%.)”

That could have amazing long-term effects in bolstering the American economy. But short-term, we have to note that these last couple months have been difficult for the American industrial wing.

In fact, new data shows U.S. manufacturing reached a two-year low last month.

Earlier this week, The Institute for Supply Management released its July index for manufacturing activity. All told, it offered several mixed messages, painting simultaneous pictures of slow growth and steady contraction.

For those with exposure in the retail or industrial sectors, this report is certainly worth a glance.

For me though, the biggest takeaway comes from the Manufacturing PMI. This index is one of the best metrics to judge the U.S manufacturing sector.

And this month, it showed activity at 52.8 – its lowest point since June 2020, signaling a definite drop in demand for American-made factory products. Then again, it doesn’t exactly point to a major contraction either.

Usually, anything above 50 signals expansion. So, once again, there’s more than one conclusion to reach.

The results can easily fit into a bearish mentality – things are slowing, guys and gals. Watch out! – or a bullish one that shows we’re doing pretty excellently all things considered.

As with every other interpretation out there, take your pick!

More Non-REIT News to Know About

I have to say, I’m impressed with some of the creativity we’ve seen from retailers these days.

Yesterday, I wrote about how dollar stores are introducing produce aisles to further lure in cash-strapped shoppers. Now it seems manufacturers are altering their product lines as well.

Unilever (UL), for one, is launching cheaper bundled varieties of brands such as Degree deodorant and Suave shampoo. Meanwhile, it’s holding prices firm for products like Dove soap.

The company also presented new alternatives of personal-care brands – including premium ones such as SheaMoisture haircare – that it believes might catch cash-strapped consumers’ attention.

Kraft Heinz (KHC), for its part, is introducing items like 10-packs of Kraft Mac & Cheese and $1 Lunchables. And PepsiCo (PEP) is stocking many stores with higher volumes of low-price snacks such as Santitas tortilla chips.

It’s interesting to see both consumer brands and retailers pivoting so quickly amid all this economic uncertainty. While they’re certainly looking out for their own bottom line, it does seem like their efforts could significantly ease cost concerns for the American consumer.

In which case, I’m all for it.

The World According to REITs

Iron Mountain (IRM) is a very versatile real estate investment trust (REIT). Impressively so.

It operates an extensive portfolio of innovative storage and data centers. Plus, this dynamic, multi-disciplined business provides asset lifecycle management and information management services.

You’ve probably seen its trucks driving from business to business collecting data to either store or dispense of. And if you haven’t, you’re probably going to notice them now.

Recently, Iron Mountain announced yet another new venture that it’s adding to its suite of services. Its content services platform, Iron Mountain InSight is now available to customers as a software as a service (SaaS) offering on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Through this expanded effort, InSight will help customers with end-to-end services, including managing their entire information lifecycle for both physical and digital content.

That way, those businesses can accelerate their digital journeys and seize greater value from their data stored on AWS… a win-win all around! William L. Meaney, president and CEO at Iron Mountain, said:

“Launching Iron Mountain InSight SaaS platform on AWS is a critical step for enabling our customers. And it deepens our relationship with AWS. We are continuing to evolve our offerings to meet the changing needs of our customers, furthering our commitment to enabling a native, cloud first approach increasing our flexibility, and bolstering customers’ ability to achieve strategic goals in the hybrid world.”

And here are remarks from Chris Grusz, director of independent software vendor partner and AWS Marketplace business development:

“AWS and Iron Mountain strive to work backwards from our customer needs to help customers gain insights from their physical and digital assets. Iron Mountain’s InSight SaaS on AWS allows customers to accelerate their journey from physical to digital to cloud at petabyte scale, and unlock value from their data with AWS AI/ML services.”

At this point, Iron Mountain seems to be way more than just a REIT – though it still provides the steady dividends and returns you expect from this market sector. Its creativity and growth through the years is definitely one of the reasons I keep following them regardless of popular opinion.

Author’s Note: If you do determine this stock is right for you, make sure to purchase it at a smart entry point. Even the best of companies can burn you badly if you buy in at inflated prices.

Happy Investing

Brad Thomas

467 posts

View all my Posts

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.

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

We Might Be Seeing Made in America Again

Brad Thomas

467 postsAugust 3, 2022

Featured Articles

The Great Housing Market Migration Is VERY Interesting

Let Dividends Help You Deal With Disappointment In The Stock Market

Amazon Wants to Ask What Ails You

Wall Street’s Workforce Crisis Should Be Taken Seriously

Santa Claus Has Left the Building

We Might Be Seeing Made in America Again

467 postsAugust 3, 2022

REIT Mutual Funds

REIT ETFs

Not All Dividends Are the Same