REIT investments have been enormously lucrative to investors who got in early and knew what they were doing. The easiest path to outperformance over the past 20 years would have been to load up on REITs, enjoy the dividends and wait:
Today, the valuations remain reasonable, the fundamentals are strong, and the prospects for future returns are strong. Therefore, most investors understand that they should invest in REITs, whether it's for high dividends, market-beating total returns, inflation protection or simply diversification.
The more difficult question is HOW to invest in REITs? There are two main