REIT returns nearly doubled those of the broader equity market in the first eight months of 2016. The FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index, the broadest benchmark of the U.S. REIT market containing both Equity and Mortgage REITs, delivered a 14.18 percent total return in the year through August; the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index delivered a 14.00 percent total return; and the total return of the FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITs Index was 19.56 percent. In comparison, the total return of the S&P 500 was 7.82 percent.
On a 12-month basis ended August 31, the FTSE NAREIT All REITs Index’s total return was 24.61 percent; the total return of the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index was 25.37 percent; and the FTSE NAREIT Mortgage REITs Index’s total return was 15.48 percent. For the same 12-month period, the S&P 500 delivered a total return of 12.55 percent.