Five best performing S-REITS in 2013

The five best performing REITs since the end of 2012 have included two REITs that invest mostly in properties in Singapore, one that invests in properties in Hong Kong, one that invests in properties in Japan and one that invests mostly in properties in Indonesia, according to an My Gateway email update by the Singapore Exchange.

Total returns (including dividends) of the REITs in 2013 YTD have ranged from -11.1% for CapitaRetail China Trust to + 13.3% for Parkway Life REIT.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) invest in professionally managed real estate assets. With three new listings this year, SGX now lists 25 REITs that are governed by the Collective Investment Scheme. The 25 REITs listed on SGX are varied by the type of properties in the portfolio in addition to the location of those properties. Five invest solely in international properties while nine hold both international and Singapore real estate. There are 11 REITs that have their entire portfolio currently made of Singapore properties.

In the 2013 year thus far, the FTSE ST REIT Index has declined 1.5% on a total return basis which takes into account weighted price appreciation and dividend distributions. This has followed on from a total return of 46.2% for the 2012 year.

Attuned with the status of an Asian REITs hub, just two of the five best performing REITs since 2012 are investing mostly in Singapore properties. The five best performing REITs since 2012 include Fortune REIT which invests in residential-related properties in Hong Kong, Saizen REIT which invests in residential-related properties in Japan and First REIT that invests mostly in health care related properties in Indonesia.