The Return Performance of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Portfolio Diversification Benefits

Abstract

This study describes the emergence and the structure of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and investigates whether European REITs provide higher risk-adjusted returns and portfolio diversification benefits relative to the market portfolio. The top public listed companies of five (5) established (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, UK), three (3) emerging (Italy, Spain, Ireland) and one (1) nascent (Greece) European REIT markets, are considered over period 2007 – 2018. The empirical findings denote poor performance of most European REITS over the Global Financial Crisis period but strong risk adjusted returns, overall, outperforming the equivalent European stock market indices and bonds over the first years of post - GFC period. In the recent period (2015 – 2018), most European REITs continued to deliver positive but modest risk adjusted returns relative to the previous period. The analysis provides evidence of poor portfolio diversification benefits and weak cross country diversification benefits among the European REITs.