The big draw for many is that real estate investing typically adds relatively little risk to your portfolio while adding more diversity and potential growth. The advantages are many, including recurring income, tax benefits and the tangible asset of the investment because what you are investing in is a physical property that will benefit from lease activity even if the property value drops. 

The Nuveen Short-Term REIT tracks the investment results of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Short-Term REIT Index. Nuveen invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of borrowings for investment purposes in REITs. The index is a subset of the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index, which in most cases includes equity REITs traded on a national securities exchange in the U.S. Those REITs gain at least 75% of their revenue from the ownership and operation of real estate assets with a minimum market capitalization of $200 million at the time of their inclusion. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is non-diversified.

The iShare Core US REIT ETF tracks the investment results of the Financial Times Stock Exchange Group (FTSE) National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) Equity REITs Index composed of U.S. real estate equities. The index measures the performance of U.S.-listed REITs, excluding infrastructure, mortgage and timber REITs. This fund primarily invests 80% of its assets in the component securities of its underlying index and in investments with economic characteristics that are identical to the component securities of its underlying index. 

The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR® Fund aims to provide investment results that, before expenses, generally correspond to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Real Estate Select Sector Index. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests substantially the vast majority of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. That index includes securities of companies taking part in real estate management and development but not mortgage REITs. The fund is non-diversified.
Charles Schwab Corp. US REIT ETF™ (NYSE:SCHW) 

The Schwab US REIT ETF tracks the total return of the Dow Jones Equity All REIT Capped Index, which is composed of U.S. REITs classified as equities. The index excludes mortgage REITs that indirectly lend money to real estate owners/operators by purchasing mortgages or mortgage-backed securities. This qualification includes hybrid REITs that participate both in equity and mortgage investing. The fund’s policy is that under normal circumstances, it will invest at least 90% of its net assets in securities included in the index.

An alternative real estate investment strategy can be found with CalTier Realty, an equity crowdfunding platform that opens the door to professionally managed institutional grade multi-family investments not typically available to the retail investor. The JOBS Act of 2014 cleared the way for crowd-funded investing and spawned a bevy of tech-enabled real estate platforms. Still, the San Diego-based CalTier significantly differentiated itself from the pack.

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