Listed equity REITs remain top-performing asset

With an estimated 10,000 Americans retiring every day, pension funds are under increased pressure to maximize returns and generate steady income to meet the growing financial obligations of the country’s retirees, according to Asset Allocation and Fund Performance of Defined Benefit Pension Funds in the United States Between 1998-2015, by pension research firm CEM Benchmarking, sponsored by NAREIT.

The study looks at the asset allocation and performance of 200 public and private pension funds, representing nearly $3.5 trillion in assets under management. The study provides a comprehensive review of investment allocations and actual investment performance across 12 asset groups over an 18-year period.

REITs were the best-performing asset class over the study period. Hedge Funds were the second-worst.

Listed Equity REITs outperformed all other 11 assets in the study, generating average annual net total returns of 11.4 percent. The Hedge Fund average