The nature of magazine production has me writing my column for the November/December issue in early October. The trick is to choose a topic that has enough shelf life so that when the issue is published nothing you've said can come back to bite you or make you look foolish. So while I won't comment on who will be sitting in the White House or if my beloved Red Sox finally broke their curse, I can say that regardless of what market shifts may occur between now and December that the REIT industry is as strong as ever heading into 2005.

The industry faced some challenges in 2004, but as a whole came through with flying colors. In fact, in preparing our state of the industry article for this issue it became clear that for the first time the industry weathered an economic recession and came out relatively unscathed. REITs are better understood and appreciated as an investment alternative for their high yields and diversification benefits. This is shown in the broader investor base (both institutional and individual) and the growing acceptance among defined benefit and defined contribution plans.

The management teams leading the industry are also top notch and the industry's corporate governance practices are second to none (as is shown in the rankings by Institutional Shareholder Services on page 120). The ability to meet the challenges presented by this past recession has the industry in a good position to further its success and continue its evolution as a valuable component of every diversified investment portfolio. I can only hope the Red Sox fare as well.

Also In This Issue

When you start to look at executives and companies that have paved the way for where REITs are today, Milton Cooper of Kimco Realty Corporation has to be near the top of that list. Kimco's IPO jumpstarted the modern REIT era and Cooper has been a guiding force in the industry for nearly half a century.

Real estate may still be considered a local business, but there are an increasing number of U.S.-based REITs that are thinking globally. A handful of recent events provide good signs for where cross-border opportunities might or might not exist in the retail, industrial, office and lodging sectors.

Matthew Bechard
Editor-in-Chief