Investing in REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts, 4th Edition

Investment Styles

Some non-REIT investors have done well by buying and owning the large, steadily growing companies with excellent long-term track records, such as Coca-Cola, Exxon, or Wal-Mart. Peter Lynch called these stocks “stalwarts.” Other investors have looked for companies growing at very rapid rates, such as Apple, Baidu, or even some biotech companies. “Contrarian” or “value” investors buy shares whose prices are temporarily depressed by bad news that they expect will eventually dissipate, or where hidden asset values will soon surface. Some investors like to buy “small-cap” shares in growing companies most people have never heard of. All of these approaches can work—for REITs as well as for other stocks—if the investor is disciplined ...