VNQ: Vanguard REIT Index ETF Instablogs

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Monday, May 13, 1:56 PM The NAREIT U.S. REIT Index (IYR, VNQ) had a pretty good year just in April, rising 5.8% vs. the S&P up 1.9%. YTD through April, the index was up 15.44% vs. 12.74% for the S&P. Y/Y, REITs are up 22.2% vs. the S&P at 16.89% The best performers in April were the retail REITs (SPG, TCO, GGP, O, ARCP, PEI), gaining 9.9%. Taking a break were the timber REITs (PCH, PCL), down 1.6% in April after rising 7.3% the previous month. YTD, the leading REIT performer is Health Care (VTR, HCP, HCN HTA), +23.7%. Comment! [Financials]
Monday, April 22, 1:49 PM Moody's upgrades its outlook for the equity REIT industry to Stable. The sector is "well positioned to handle the fragile economic outlook and the potential for rising interest rates," the ratings agency says, in a new report. Moody's Senior VP notes that REITs have "access to multiple capital sources … at historically low rates that have lengthened their debt maturity profiles," boosted earnings, and increased fixed charge coverage ratios. 1 Comment
Friday, April 5, 5:00 PM The week's ETF movers - Gainers: TLT +4.3%. WPS +3.7%. UNG +2.6%. VNQ +2.4%. IYR +1.8%.
ETF Losers: GDXJ -8.0%. GDX -7.4%. URA -6.7%. EWY -6.2%. REMX -5.3%. Comment! [On the Move]
Thursday, March 21, 9:41 AM Vanguard REIT ETF (VNQ) announces quarterly distribution of $0.534. For shareholders of record Mar. 26. Payable Mar. 28. Ex-div date Mar. 22. Comment! [Dividends]
Friday, February 8, 12:23 PM Large inflows into stock mutual funds continue, with the amount since the year's start now at $24.9B, according to Lipper, the strongest run since April 2000. Do ETF flows show even more of a move towards risk? The mighty SPY moves from first to last, losing $3B in AUM last week, while the Russell 2000 Index (IWM) and the Real Estate ETF (IYR) jumped to the top. 9 Comments
Thursday, January 24, 10:48 AM Performance of U.S. REITs (IYR, VNQ) has been good, but international REITs like RWX have done even better while sporting higher yields. Greater alpha is nice on the way up, but don't think tighter Fed policy won't hit international REITs even harder than domestic ones, says Stephen Cucchiaro. A compromise might be RWO, which splits its portfolio between the U.S. and overseas. Comment! [Global & FX]
Thursday, January 24, 8:53 AM "(Commercial property) values are increasing but they're not running away," says Starwood (STWD) CEO Barry Sternlicht in an interview about the LNR purchase. He notes money is beginning to move out of fixed income into real property. This isn't news for major city centers, but Sternlicht says it's beginning to spill into "secondary cities." Comment! [Financials, U.S. Economy]
Wednesday, January 23, 10:21 AM Housing bulls take pause after John Paulson tells an audience his best idea right now is to buy a house. Summing up the conventional wisdom, the ice-cold hedge funder notes prices are up and inventory is at a decade-low, creating the "most positive change in housing since the Lehman crisis." 4 Comments [U.S. Economy]
Wednesday, January 23, 9:38 AM More on mortgage applications: Low rates (and the threat of higher ones) along with increasing prices have buyers busy. The seasonally-adjusted 3% rise in purchase applications has the index at its highest level since the homebuyer tax credit was set to expire in May 2010. The unadjusted purchase index +26% Y/Y. (full report) Comment! [U.S. Economy]
Friday, January 18, 10:59 AM More good news for housing: Household formation growth is back. After averaging more than 1M/year prior to the property bust, formations dropped to about 500K/year between 2008-10. The number bounced to 1.1M in 2011 and looks to have risen further last year. The gains are particularly felt in the rental market, and builders are obliging with a big jump in multi-family starts. 5 Comments [U.S. Economy]
Wednesday, January 16, 7:36 AM Housing will be a bright spot in an otherwise sluggish macro picture this year, says Goldman, noting mortgage lending terms are more likely to ease rather than tighten. The firm says private investor demand is set to gain momentum, but this is already off the charts. If it gets any stronger, it's hard to see how they'll be anything left for the rest of us. 1 Comment [U.S. Economy]
Wednesday, January 9, 1:41 PM With a 20.1% total return, U.S. REIT stocks (includes both equity and mortgage REITs) outperformed the broad market for the 4th straight year. The top-performing sector was Timber, sporting a 37% total gain, followed by Industrial and Infrastructure REITs. Comment! [Financials]
Sunday, January 6, 8:56 AM While the preferred stock (PFF) led the income pack in 2012 with a total return of 18.2%, the current risk-reward profile isn't great, says Barclays' Shobhit Gupta, with the upside capped by the issuer call option, and significant downside if rates rise. One overlooked class for investors: Convertible Bonds (CWB). Barron's overview of the income sector. 26 Comments [Quick Ideas]
Wednesday, January 2, 3:33 PM The shadow inventory of residential housing fell to 2.3M units in October, according to CoreLogic, a 12.3% decline from a year ago, and representing a 7-month supply. Half of the shadow inventory is only delinquent at this point. Given the length of time it takes to foreclose, there is little threat of a near-term big boost to housing market supply, says the group's Mark Fleming. Comment! [U.S. Economy]
Tuesday, December 11, 2012, 3:28 PM Developed real estate ex-U.S. (WPS) continues a torrid run, both absolutely and measured against U.S. real estate (IYR, VNQ). Though its holdings are concentrated in Asia and Australia, WPS began its outperformance right around the time of Mario Draghi's "whatever it takes" remarks concerning EMU. WPS +31.5%, IYR +13.5% YTD. 1 Comment [Global & FX, U.S. Economy]
Friday, November 30, 2012, 4:08 PM Norway's sovereign wealth fund is jumping into U.S. real estate, planning to invest about $11B of its $660B in "conservative" investments such as office complexes in major cities. The fund - just stocks and bonds at the moment - wants to have 5% of its assets in property. "The U.S. is the next real estate market to invest in," says fund management chief Yngve Slyngstad. 1 Comment [U.S. Economy, Global & FX]

VNQ Vanguard REIT Index ETF

VNQ

Vanguard REIT Index ETF