Derek Warren Vanguard REIT ETF VNQ-N WEAK BUY Sep 05, 2014

US house prices are just hitting bottom and resales have picked up along with new home building over the last couple of months. US REITs are best positioned to benefit at this time. A number of Canadian REITs have raised money in recent weeks to go into the US.

Very well diversified with a mixed bag of healthcare, retail, commercial, residential. He wouldn’t be uncomfortable buying this. The fees are very low.

He likes this. There is a big problem in REITs right now with all the struggles of the big box retailers in Canada. In the US, this one is a very big ETF, and is extremely well diversified.

He is talking about US REITS generally and using the Vanguard REIT ETF to show the pattern across the industry. The EFT was trading in a consolidation range ($80-85’s) all of last year, then there was a sharp drop. The ETF has been retracing but the price (now $75.88) is not close to where it fell from. He thinks he is seeing smart money coming in to take advantage of panicked selling. The average yield is high (6% to 10%). For this ETF, he would set a stop at $72. These stocks are not bond alternatives, but bond mutual funds have given zero return over the past three years (interest minus drop in the share value minus fees = zero). REITS have more risk than bonds but they are lower risk at this time because they have dropped significantly.

VNQ is always a good option, with a yield of high 2%, gives broad diversification.

A contrarian call. There remain gems in the rubble of commercial real estate.

A contrarian call. Up 3.4% in May. She just bought Prologis. Certainly, will improve when rates decline.