INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT OF REITS

Abstract

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are a relatively new investment vehicle in the investment arena. The REIT market in the United States of America (US) is one of the most established in the world, and the Singapore REIT market has much to leam from the US. This study aims to study the important role of institutional investors in the Singapore REIT market, as in the US, institutional investors play a rather dominant role. The types of institutional investors in Singapore will be briefly described in this research, and the current situation of the Singapore REIT market is evaluated too. A survey is used in this dissertation to study institutional investors' perceptions and orientation towards REITs in Singapore. The analysis is mainly separated into two parts, the current situation and the future direction. Also, a poll on individual investors was conducted, regarding their perceptions on whether institutional investment in REITs will influence their own investment decisions. The poll results show that institutional investment in REITs does have an influence on individual investors' decisions. Lastly, the study will evaluate the potential of the REIT market in Singapore with regards to the analysis on the results.