Effective at the start of 2019, Real Estate will become a headline Industry under financial index provider FTSE Russell’s Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB).
FTSE Russell announced the change on Sept. 5, noting that the growth of the investable real estate market has reached an estimated market capitalization of $2 trillion. “Listed real estate, including real estate investment trusts (REITs), provides access to the global commercial real estate market with the added liquidity, transparency and regulation associated with investing in publicly traded stocks,” FTSE Russell said in the announcement.
The ICB will classify REITs as a sector within the Real Estate Industry and also include additional REIT subsectors. Mortgage REITs will remain part of the ICB Financials Industry.
(Contact: Mike Grupe at mgrupe@nareit.com)