Cohen And Steers Realty

Income is difficult to find these days. Treasury yield less than 5%. The bond market is in disarray, credit spreads have widened (which means that the price of existing bonds is down) and there are serious problems of liquidity (the value of impact also).

Have you considered real estate mutual funds? Many have current yields in the range 5-8% (mostly REITs-Real Estate Investment Trust-fund). Now, let's be clear on this point. These are equity funds and equity funds have more risk and more volatility than bond funds. (Of course, investors in mortgage funds at risk have found that debt funds are not risk-free!) However, equity funds also offer the possibility of increasing income and capital gains.

Real estate mutual funds covers a vast territory and you want to make sure you know how your fund invests. I chose the first two best performing funds: CGM Realty and Cohen & Steers Realty Focus I (Cohen & Steers are the sponsors of real estate investment trust).

Take a look at their holdings. greater participation CGM include two international mining companies, two real estate brokerages and a Real Estate Investment Trust. The addition of Cohen & Steers REIT are all U.S.. Both pools are excellent, but they have very different investment strategies. CGM is more geared capital appreciation while Cohen & Steers is more focused on income.

The moral of this story is that you must navigate through the portfolio of a fund "to make sure it suits you. (In addition to reviewing the stocks it owns, do not forget to check to see if the fund uses leverage to improve its performance.)

Investors focus on income should focus on real estate investment trust (although I avoided REITs that invest in mortgage loans for the moment). REIT stocks generally fell more than prices at the current market correction as the Dow Jones or S & P 500. Some claim that Real Estate Investment Trust stocks were overvalued. Whether or not this is true, many REITs are high quality now pass beyond the Treasury. Historically, this has been a good entry point.

Of course, many quality REITs are still in the yield range of 2-4%, so that the REIT market correction may not be over. And one of the drivers of stock prices-REIT buyouts by private equity companies may be ending.

Overall, however, seems to be the right time to invest in income-oriented equity REITs. Select a good fund and you have a high current income and an investment whose value and income stream will increase over time.