The words “real estate investment trust” may yet summon images of dividend-clipping, risk-averse investors in the United States, but for institutional investors seeking exposure to the world’s largest property market — Asia — the otherwise-prosaic listed REIT offers easy access and liquidity.

Over longer horizons, listed REITs generally match even direct institutional real estate ownership for total returns, but without the intensive management obligations, the risks and the need for scale — that is, a large, discrete chunk of capital that can be allocated to one or a few projects.

Although investors of all sizes can deploy capital to Asian REITs to balance portfolios or test waters in new markets, smaller institutional investors may find REITs offer the best, most prudent way to play the Asian property game. “A well-diversified portfolio of Asian REITs can gain exposure to sectors, formats and locations not always accessible by direct investment,” sugg