We’ve all had the feeling like we’ve forgotten something. You leave the house and something is just nagging at your mind.
Your keys? Your lunch? Your laptop?
Like most men, I do a “self-frisk” every morning. I pat myself down and check that I have my wallet, keys, phone and whatever else I might need before I walk out the door.
And even after that, sometimes the feeling persists.
I had that feeling last week, and I want to cure that today.
Last week I wrote about a new 52-week high for Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) a marijuana real estate investment trust, or REIT, recommended by the editor of Investment Opportunities, Matt McCall.
Just since then, it has climbed again. As I wrote last week, it was priced at $64.85, and as I write it is trading at $66.61
It’s another great way to take advantage of the marijuana trend.
But I realized that I left out an important part of the story.
We don’t talk much about real estate in the Digest, but it really is one of the best ways to build your wealth.
One of the key phrases we repeat around here is “spend your time acquiring assets, not liabilities.”
That philosophy is key to building your financial empire.
And real estate is a great way to do that. We probably all know investors who own real estate, and if you have the skills and don’t mind being someone’s landlord, it can be a great way to increase your wealth.
Many of us, however, have neither the time or the interest in hands-on management of properties.
And that’s where REITs come in. REITs are a great way to take advantage of real estate … one that all our advisers – all of them – recommend.
And now is a great time to invest in REITs.
Last week, Neil George, editor of our Profitable Investing service, wrote about why…
Those are all good reasons why Neil keeps plenty of REITs in his Profitable Investing portfolio.
Aside from the exposure to the real estate market, REITs are a great way to get exposure to more market sectors.
The McCall pick of IIPR is a great example. Investors don’t have to choose a company that sells marijuana products. Instead, they can invest in the real estate that’s needed to support the market.
Neil has adopted this strategy for one of his favorite REITs, Digital Realty Trust (DRT).
Technology stocks have been a challenge in the recent market turbulence. But one reliable sector that combines technology with real estate has been the data center REITs. Data centers are at the core of cloud computing with all of the major cloud operators and service providers leasing out space in data centers around the nation.
One of my favorites is Digital Realty Trust (DLR), which has turned in a gain since the recent bottom in October of 3.92%. The stock slipped in September on the company’s secondary issuance of shares to fund further property expansion but has since recovered.
Since Neil recommended his subscribers buy the REIT, it has climbed more than 12%. Plus, DLR currently pays a dividend of $4.04 per share, or 3.62%.
And REITs can also be part of your growth investing strategy.
Legendary stock picker Louis Navellier, editor of Growth Investor, also recommends REITs as part of his Elite Dividend Payer picks.
One of his favorite plays right now is Arbor Realty Trust.
Arbor primarily deals with loans and services for senior housing, multifamily housing, healthcare and other commercial real estate assets. And it has a fee-based servicing portfolio that amounts to more than $16.6 billion.
The stock is up more than 7% since Louis recommended buying it in late June last year.
Here are the highlights from Louis latest report on Arbor from the January issue of Growth Investor.
For the latest quarter, the REIT announced net income of $27.7 million, or $0.36 per share, up 68.9% from the $16.4 million, or $0.26 per share posted in the third quarter of 2017. Analysts were looking for earnings of $0.37 per share, so ABR missed earnings estimates by a hair.
Arbor Realty Trust also reported that adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) came in at $36.4 million, or $0.37 per share. That’s a 73.3% jump over the $21 million, or $0.25 per share achieved in the same quarter a year ago.
Its annual dividend yield now stands at 10% with a 98.2% payout ratio. A special treat for investors is the $0.15 per share special dividend, which company management announced on Monday. Shareholders of record on December 28 will receive the $0.15 per share on January 31, 2019. ABR is a Conservative Buy below $11.
You can see why I felt like I left out part of the story last week.
When all our advisers recommend REITs, they should be in your portfolio.
Today, I gave you three picks from our advisers, and you can learn more about each of these picks from Matt McCall’s Investment Opportunities, Neil George’s Profitable Investing and Louis Navellier’s Growth Investor services.
To a richer life…
Luis Hernandez, Managing Editor
and the research team at InvestorPlace.com
