As pension, endowment, foundation, and sovereign fund investors evaluate the benefits that exposure to commercial real estate bring to investment portfolios, they should know that stock exchange-listed REITs and real estate securities offer meaningful advantages as a way of obtaining that exposure.

Pension Plan Changes in Real Estate Allocations


The 2022 Pensions & Investments annual survey of pension plans found that REIT assets in the largest 200 U.S. retirement plans grew 22% to $34.2 billion during 2021 and are starting to play catch up with those plans’ private real estate portfolios that grew just 13.4% over the same time period. Over a five-year period, REITs also outpaced private real estate with assets up 47.4% compared to private real estate’s 40.5% increase.

There are a number of good reasons for defined benefit (DB) pension plans, endowments and foundations as well as other investors to consider using REITs in their real estate strategies:

If you would like to send a question directly to the Nareit Investor Outreach team, please email us.

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