Believe it or not, there's a rally in real estate—commercial real estate, that is. So far this year, real estate funds, which invest primarily in real estate investment trusts (REITs), have returned about 17 percent. And over the past year, they've gained almost 40 percent, according to Morningstar.
Some experts say investors have flocked to REIT funds for their yields. Some traditional investments like money market funds are yielding practically zero because interest rates are so low. After the subprime mortgage crisis, all real estate investments were punished, but the news is improving somewhat in the commercial real estate sector. More people are renting instead of buying, and earnings growth is expected to pick up in the near future, says Marc Halle, managing director for Prudential Real Estate Investors. Vacancies are slowly diminishing—meaning that in the future landlords are going to be able to charge more for rent, which is good for their bottom line, he says.
[See U.S. News's list of the 100 Best Mutual Funds for the Long Term and use our Mutual Fund Score to find the best investments for you.]
There a few important things to know about investing in real estate funds. A REIT owns a collection of commercial real estate properties, all with tenants who pay rent. REITs are not required to pay corporate income taxes, but they must pay out 90 percent of their net income as dividends to shareholders. This means that REIT funds generally have fairly high yields. Most investment advisers suggest putting no more than 5 or 10 percent of your total assets in these sector-specific funds, says Morningstar analyst John Coumarianos.
[See Will the REITs Rally Continue?]
"REITs are inherently more risky than AAA corporate bonds," says Brad Sorensen, director of market and sector analysis for the Schwab Center for Financial Research. REIT funds generally offer an attractive yield, but that yield comes with additional risks. Sorensen also points out that many investors have a large portion of their net worth already invested in their homes.
It's important to differentiate: Commercial real estate and residential homebuilding have little to do with one another, Halle says. Also, real estate isn't a commodity like gold or oil. The quality of the properties varies from region to region, Halle says. "It's location, location, location," he says. Fund managers select REITs based on where the properties are located and by which industries look most attractive. They invest in them by buying the stocks of each of these REITs, which are made of a group of properties.
What that in mind, here are three of U.S. News's top-ranked real estate funds.
CGM Realty (CGMRX). This fund is run by Ken Heebner, who is best known for managing the high-flying CGM Focus fund. Heebner is also known for frequent trading. CGM Realty's portfolio turnover is close to 200 percent, according to Morningstar. Over the past 10 years, the fund has returned an annualized 18 percent, which places it in the top 1 percent of its category. But at times, his funds give investors a wild ride. In the past, CGM Realty has ranked near the bottom of its category one year and at the top the next. The portfolio only holds between 20 to 25 stocks, and Heebner can invest up to 20 percent of the fund's total assets outside of the real estate industry, according to the fund's prospectus. (Earlier this year, copper and silver producer companies made up about 15 percent of the portfolio, according to Morningstar.) The fund's annual fees are 0.93 percent.
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