In his stand-up routine, comedian George Carlin regularly points out the flaws in the words and phrases we use every day. One of his frequent targets is the over-used (and physically impossible) marketing term "new and improved." As Carlin deadpans, if something is new then there was nothing to improve upon and if it is improved then there had to be something to improve in the first place.

Having debuted in July 1999, Real Estate Portfolio is certainly not new—but we are taking great strides to make sure the magazine is improved.

After conducting a reader survey and talking with real estate industry leaders, it became clear that we needed to increase our efforts to engage the investment community in a dialogue on the merits of investing in real estate securities.

To facilitate that mission, you will notice several additions to the editorial line-up. "Vested Interest" is a new column that speaks to the views and concerns of institutional investors. This first installment features a roundtable discussion about the money being invested in real estate stocks, where it is coming from and where it is going.

"REIT Reality" is a new department where we reconcile some of the common misconceptions surrounding investing in real estate stocks. The first myth to be debunked is that REITs have not performed as well as other investments in recent decades.

But that's not all. Look for more additions—and improvements—in up-coming issues as well as online.

Cover Story

The 12-month predictions for the commercial real estate industry following the horrific events of last September were bleak at best. But despite the challenges, the publicly traded real estate industry performed relatively well in comparison to other industries. In "Back to Work," we focus on New York City and the resiliency various property sectors have shown, while assessing the outlook of the market.

Matthew Bechard
Editor-in-Chief