REITs were down slightly during a tumultuous week that saw wide swings in broad equity indices. The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs index posted a total return of -0.7%, compared to a 3.4% loss on the Russell 1000.
Many REIT property sectors declined, with the largest drops in the lodging/resorts (-6.7%) and timber (-6.2%). Five sectors rose, however, demonstrating the ability of REITs to reduce the volatility of portfolio returns by improving diversification. Data centers had the largest weekly gain, with a total return of 2.6%. Other new economy REIT sectors, industrial and infrastructure, were up, as well as self storage and specialty.