Walter Boudry, assistant professor at Cornell University, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWeek 2015: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.
Boudry presented a paper at the 2015 NAREIT/AREAUEA Real Estate Research Conference on the diversification benefits of REITs. Risk-tolerant investors tend to benefit more from the diversification properties of REIT common stocks, which enable them to put together portfolios with higher returns. On the other hand, REIT preferred stocks are more appropriate for risk-averse investors, according to Boudry.
Although REIT preferred stocks don’t get a significant amount of attention from many investors, Boudry said they’re popular with a segment who are attracted to the “fixed-income” characteristics of the stocks. “It allows them to reduce risk in their portfolios,” Boudry said.
Looking ahead, Boudry said the research on diversification gave him ideas for further areas of study. For example, Boudry said more analysis is needed at the company level.