From the February issue: In early January, Forest City Ratner became the latest prominent real estate company to ditch the secrecy of private ownership in exchange for the tax benefits and easier access to capital that come with being a public company.
And they are just the latest firm to join the real estate investment trust ranks.
For stock investors, the proliferation of REITs means more choices — and with that more confusion, given that many invest in similar assets.
This month, The Real Deal crunched the numbers to find out which REITs and public real estate firms performed best over the past five years. [more]