Through June 2012 the Chilton Reit Composite produced a total return for investors of 16.9 per cent, which compares favourably to its benchmark, the MSCI US Reit Index, at 14.9 per cent, and the S&P 500 at 9.5 per cent.

In the past three years, the Chilton Reit Composite has generated annualised total returns of 32.3 per cent, which equates to a cumulative total return of more than 125 per cent.

Over the same time period, an investment in the S&P 500 would have produced annualized total returns of 16.4 per cent, which equates to a cumulative total return of ~55 per cent.

Currently, investors are clamouring for yield instruments as money market funds, US 10 Year Treasury Notes and S&P 500 dividend yields have all reached new lows: zero per cent, 1.6 per cent, and 2.1 per cent respectively as of 30 June 2012 according to Bloomberg.

Publicly traded equity Reits, on the other hand, currently offer investors a dividend yield of 3.3 per cent as of the same date. Reits own, manage, and develop commercial real estate across 11 sectors and eight geographic regions. These Reits are traded on the New York Stock Exchange and provide the same liquidity, transparency, and regulatory oversight offered by stocks in the S&P 500 (there are currently 16 Reits in the S&P 500).

The Chilton Reit team is headed by Bruce Garrison, with portfolio manager Matt Werner and analyst Ben Atkins.