The FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index continued its strong 2014 with total returns in February of 4.67 percent, outpacing the S&P 500 Index by 10 basis points. Year-to-date as of Feb. 28, the index has outpaced the S&P 500 8.13 percent to 1.11 percent. As of the end of February, the dividend yield of the index was 3.59 percent.
Free-standing retail has performed better than any other property sector in 2014, with total returns of 16.37 percent in 2014 and a strong February that saw returns of 7.14 percent. The only sector that outperformed free-standing retail in February was self-storage, which had total returns of 7.33 percent in the month and 12.94 percent so far in 2014. Industrial/office REITs and residential REITs have posted double-digit returns for 2014 at 10.43 percent and 12.09 percent, respectively. Every subsector of industrial/office REITS — industrial, office and mixed — have posted returns in the double digits.
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