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Featured Advisors
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Tuesday October 16, 2012
by Nicholas Vardy, editor The Alpha Investor Letter Until recently, global real estate was an exotic asset class, off the radar screen of U.S. retail investors. Information was scarce. And few global real estate stocks are listed on U.S. exchanges. That changed with the advent of global real estate exchange-traded funds such as Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate Index Fund ( VNQI).
VNQI is not a bet on a single stock in a single country. Instead, the fund seeks to replicate the S&P Global ex-U.S. Property Index, a benchmark that includes REITs and real estate operating companies (REOCs) in emerging and developed markets outside of the US. So, when you invest in VNQI, you are investing in 440 individual securities from 35 different markets, including Japan, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Coincidentally, VNQI’s regional allocation pretty much tracks the composition of Knight Frank/Citi study’s top ten cities list, which found that six out of the top ten cities for real estate are based in Asia. That just about matches VNQI’s 56% weighting in the region. VNQI’s 20.7% weighting in Europe correlates almost exactly with London and Paris, which both are in the top ten. Its top five holdings together account for 16.2% of the fund’s assets. - Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd. is Japan’s second-largest real-estate developer and is involved in property management and architecture research and design.
- Westfield Group (Australia) is the world’s largest retail property group by market cap. It has interests in 124 shopping centers across Australia, the US, UK, New Zealand and Brazil.
- Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. is one of the largest property companies in Hong Kong and has the highest credit ratings among Hong Kong developers.
- Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. is one of the largest developers of residential, office, retail, industrial and hotel properties in Hong Kong. About one in 12 of the private residences in Hong Kong have been developed by the company.
- Headquartered in Paris, Unibail-Rodamco SE is the largest commercial real estate company in Europe. It owns 76 shopping centers in 12 European countries.
Although foreign real estate is not an asset class you probably invest in, some of the smartest money in the world does — including the Harvard endowment. At my investment firm, Global Guru Capital, I run the “Ivy Plus” Investment Program — an investment strategy that replicates the asset-allocation strategy of the Harvard endowment. Among 17 asset classes in which it invests, which one has been the top performer of 2012? You guessed it... foreign real estate, which is up 23.31%. VNQI's expense ratio is only 0.35%, which makes it the cheapest fund in its sector. VNQI also boasts an attractive yield of 4.04%. I’ve given this a low-risk rating. Learn more about this financial newsletter at Nicholas Vardy's The Alpha Investor Letter.Related articles:
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News Flash
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Friday May 17, 2013
United Natural: A play on Whole Foods |
by Mark Skousen, editor Hedge Fund Trader Alert
We’ve recommended Whole Foods Market (WFM) from time to time, and the stock has moved up sharply in the past three years, but I’d like to suggest an alternative -- one of Whole Foods’ primary suppliers, United Natural Foods (UNFI).
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Thursday May 16, 2013
Timing expert eyes India |
by Sy Harding, editor Street Smart Report
The money flow and momentum reversals in India's Bombay Index have now been enough to trigger buy signals on intermediate-term indicators. With this new buy signal, we have added a position in the iShares India 50 ETF (INDY) to our portfolio.
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Wednesday May 15, 2013
Value investor goes with Guess |
by Charles Mizrahi, editor Hidden Values Alert
Guess?, Inc. (GES) is a holding in our special situation portfolio; its strong product quality has created brand name recognition and a loyal consumer following.
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Wednesday May 15, 2013
MGAM: Bingo, lotteries, casinos |
by Jim Oberweis, Jr., editor The Oberweis Report
Multimedia Games Holding Company (MGAM) makes innovative gaming systems for Native American and commercial casino operators in North America, lottery operators, and charity and commercial bingo operators.
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Tuesday May 14, 2013
Fidelity expert: Bowers' bond bets |
by Jack Bowers, editor Fidelity Monitor & Insight
If you’ve been worried that the bond market might take a big hit, you can relax. Indeed, while bond funds may lag stock funds over the next 5-10 years, they still have a decent shot at keeping up with inflation, and they remain an excellent way to cut risk in a blended portfolio.
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Tuesday May 14, 2013
Tesla: 'Out of the ball park' |
by Timothy Lutts. editor Cabot Stock of the Month
Tesla (TSLA), our previously featured Stock of the Month and our top stock pick for 2013, knocked the ball out of the park in its latest quarter. The company exceeded analysts' expectations on all counts: cars sold, revenues, earnings, gross margins and more.
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Monday May 13, 2013
5 ways to speculate on Cuba |
by Jim Powell, editor Global Changes & Opportunities Report
With the death of Hugo Chavez in March, and Venezuela’s economic decline, the heavily subsidized oil lifeline is likely to be cut or sharply reduced. I think the resulting energy squeeze will force Cuba to allow greater foreign trade and investment.
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Monday May 13, 2013
Big gains in nanotechnology? |
by Doug Fabian, editor Making Money Alert
The nanotechnology niche focuses on very small, even microscopic, technology. Nanotech has produced technological developments in medicine (lasers), electronics (ink jet systems) and biomaterials (chemical and bio-detectors).
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Friday May 10, 2013
Gold: Reasons for continued caution |
by Jim Stack, editor Investech Market Analyst
In October 2011, we questioned the run-up in gold prices to $1,895 an ounce and called prices “bubblish”. We were criticized for not understanding the new paradigm. Nonetheless, the price of gold has fallen significantly, and I feel more comfortable sharing my personal perspective of what lies ahead.
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Thursday May 09, 2013
Buffett's Berkshire is still a buy |
by Geoffrey Seiler, editor BullMarket.com
Recommended List selection Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) reported a 51% increase in net income for the first quarter, powered by profits from its extensive insurance businesses and strong results from the railroad unit.
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