There is a list of REITS in Singapore with financial figures and the recommendation of a stockbroker. You can find it in the member section of FISCA (www.easysearch.sg/FISCA).
You can view the bottom right panel of the FISCA home page to see the new postings for members and the public. You have to login to view the postings for members.
Many REITS are giving a yield of 6% or higher. Before you buy these REITS, you should attend the talk organised by FISCA (see Events tab) to learn about what to look out for.
REITS may appear attractive on the distribution yield but like any stocks they are subject to market fluctuation. It is not difficult for the unit price to fall by 6% when there is an external shock, as can be seen in the recent Tsunami in Japan, which would wipe out the entire yield in a year. Hence the basic rule of investment still apply, buy low!
ReplyDeleteAvoid investing in REITS is my personal philosophy. If you invest, you must hedge in a bad market. The reason is I believe it is a vehicle for the asset owner or developer to realize their capital gains by transferring inflated assets from their highly leverage portfolio to the REIT under their management (conflict of interest here since under same management & CEO?). By the time retail investors get a slice of the pie, the flesh has been savoured leaving the bones to prick their mouth. Maybe this is the reason HK stock exchange banned REITS from listing on their exchange eg. Hutchison Port. The yield is also not guaranteed.
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