REIT Performance
After 6 straight positive months (March-August), the REIT sector performed poorly in September (-2.54% total return). This performance was in stark contrast with much of the broader market, which generated positive returns in September. REITs were beaten by the S&P 500 (0.43%) and DJIA (1.90%), as well as falling short of Nasdaq (-0.78%) for the 3rd straight month. Based on the slightly weaker performance of large-cap REITs in August relative to their smaller peers, the market-cap weighted Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) had a slightly lower total return (-2.6%) than the average