“Demand for US real estate securities accelerated in May, as exchanged traded funds focused on the investment segment gathered $1.31 billion of new money, up from $510.4 million in April,” Todd Rosenbluth, S&P Global Market Intelligence Director of ETF Research, wrote in a note. “The popularity of REIT ETFs persisted last month even as health care and information technology ETF had net client withdrawals.”
The sudden spike in interest for REIT ETFs may be due to the pending GICS sector elevation of REITs as the REITs category remains underweighted in many actively managed mutual funds.
REITs may continue to experience a short-term boost in the months ahead as the S&P Dow Jones Indices stated it would add an 11th sector to its Global Industry Classification Standard, creating a new Real Estate Sector from the Financial Sector. The changes to the S&P 500 index will be implemented after the close of business on September 16, 2016.
Related: Undersupplied Housing Market Helps Boost This REIT ETF
“Based on the 50%-100% rule of thumb, if successful, the recent breakout would suggest an advance of 40-80 above the top of the range. That would be an extraordinary move, especially given the latter stages of the market cycle,” adds See It Market.
iShares Dow Jones US Real Estate Index Fund
