FFR News and Press, First Trust FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Global Real Estate Index Fund From 12/16/21

REITs have only had negative total returns in 2 of the first 11 months of 2021, including November’s -3.90% average return. Large-cap (-1.41%) and mid-cap REITs (-3.61%) outperformed with only modest share price declines, while micro caps (-7.49%) suffered heavier losses. O...

Across the land, there are few better inflation hedges than land itself. Timber REITs own nearly 30 million acres of land, more acreage than the smallest U.S. five states combined. Truly an "organic growth" sector, Timber REITs - which were initially slammed at the outside of the pand...

Global economic growth will be slower but still above trend in 2022. This forecast should allow equities to outperform bonds. Inflation has yet to peak, but it will likely decline over the year and as a result any central bank tightening will be modest. 2021 was a year of rebound ...

High on Growth: Cannabis REITs are far-and-away the best-performing REIT sector of the past half-decade as the budding industry thrives in the murky and often contradictory regulatory framework of legalized marijuana. Joining Innovative Industrial, Power REIT, and AFC Gamma, a pair of...

The expected risk premium for the Global Market Index (GMI) ticked lower in November but remains elevated relative to recent history. Adjusting the forecast with short-term momentum and medium-term mean-reversion market factors (defined below) reduces - substantially - GMI’s ex...

Bouncing back from punishing pandemic-related declines, Shopping Center REITs are on the cusp of a full recovery across all critical metrics but Omicron introduces fresh uncertainty and also potential opportunity. The retail landscape has improved dramatically this year. Retail sales ...

REITs have achieved positive returns in 9 of the first 10 months of 2021, including a +4.25% average return in October. Large cap (+7.60%) and Mid cap REITs (+4.88%) surged in October while micro caps (-1.35%) badly underperformed. 79.78% of REIT securities had a positive total re...

The state of global commercial real estate. Will the great return to office save office properties? Outlook for retail properties as foot traffic in malls rises. For further details see: Will 2022 Be The Comeback Year For Commercial Real Estate?

Mall revival or dead cat bounce? Three mall REITs that survived the pandemic - Simon, Tanger, and Macerich - have doubled in value this year on signs of stabilizing fundamentals. While lower-tier malls continue to face nearly insurmountable secular challenges, occupancy rates and rent...

The recent run higher in the Sharpe ratio for the Global Market Index finally reversed in October. Risk-adjusted performance has slipped, but GMI's rebound in October lifted it to a new record high. GMI is useful as a baseline to begin research on asset allocation and portfolio de...