In 1960, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law that produced a revolutionary new way to develop and invest in real estate. It created the REIT. That stands for real estate investment trust.
In short, REITs cleared the way to create large-scale real estate enterprises that could invest in many different kinds of assets, from commercial office space and shopping malls to warehouses, hotels, and even commercial forest land. Operating as a REIT also brought significant tax breaks for the principal investors of the organization.
REIT’s created some of the largest, lucrative and most profitable companies in the nation, including many that are publicly traded. That makes them highly attractive investment vehicles for speculators and traders. In many cases, investing in a REIT fund can be a safer haven for your money than investing in the stock market, commodities or other financial instruments.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of investors are seeking strong and stable REITs for secure investment opportunities. Some of the top REITs in the U.S. include:
Trading on the NYSE as AMT, this REIT operated in the communications infrastructure sector, and not things like office buildings or apartment complexes. A huge company, its asserts include 180,000 cell towers. More than 75,000 of those towers are located outside the United States.
American Tower is viewed as an attractive investment because of the way the communications industry is booming in this Digital Age. For example, global mobile data demand has been climbing at an annual rate of 46%. American Tower has annual revenues of $2.3 billion and a net profit margin of 32.46%.
Yes, this REIT is also competing in the communications sector. Crown Castle is a huge player with a market cap of $89 billion. It operates some 40,000 towers plus 70,000 small cell nodes. It also commands more than 80,000 miles of fiber optic infrastructure.
As for the future, Crown Castle is a key player in the rollout of 5G technology.
This REIT operated in the industrial sector with a focus on warehouses and logistics. It has an enormous market cap of $94 billion. That makes it among the largest companies in the world, not just one of the largest REITs. That suggests long-term stability for investors.
Furthermore, Prologis came through the pandemic with flying colors, gaining in value and revenue even as COVID wore one and continues to wear on to this day.