US REITs? He shares his interest in the sector because they rose dramatically from the crisis years, and then eased back a little. There are 2 concerns. Higher interest rates and their ability to borrow. There is also the question about the need for property given the migration of consumer spending to the Internet from the old bricks and mortar mall. He would urge you to look at the Simon Property Group, because it is the largest and bluest chip of all the mall operators.

E-commerce is a big threat, but he is comfortable owning this because they have fantastic properties and great locations. These are in closed malls, but they have high output. Their sales per square foot is very high and traffic continues to go up. They’ve done a fantastic job of reorienting some of the malls to make them look a little more service oriented. A good example of location, location, location. Trading at a substantial discount to NAV, and he would be prone to pick away at this here.

REITs tend to do well in the spring and summer. Once we get into September, we enter into a period of seasonal weakness. That takes a lot of the REITs lower until about the Nov/Dec timeframe. The chart for this year shows it going up to the beginning of August and then dropping with lower lows and lower highs. Momentum indicators are heading lower and it is underperforming the market.

(Top Pick Apr 9/15, Up 11.72%) He likes this name and continues to hold it.  They are a unique competitor in that real estate space.  He is not a high growth name and watch for interest rates to rise.

The largest REIT in the world with a lot of operations in the US and some in Canada, Europe and Asia. Business conditions continue to look pretty good. Consumer spending in the US remains pretty firm. Occupancy levels continue to be quite tight, which will allow revenues to remain pretty strong. They also did a share buyback. Dividend yield of 2.84%.

(Top Pick July 9/13, Up 12.67%) They spun off some of their lower quality assets so the remaining portfolio will be very powerful in terms of sales per square foot.  They now provide exposure to higher end consumers.  5% free cash flow growth going into 2015.

Tremendous value in this company.  Best real estate portfolio in the world and trading at a big discount to its NAV.  This is the largest component of the US real estate index.  As money comes back into REITs this one will benefit the most.  It is his largest US holding.

The best and largest mall REIT globally. NAV is about $180 with a target price as high as $213. Feels it is worth $185-$186. 2.9% dividend yield.