One of my favorite Summer Olympic events is the 4X4 100-meter relay. There is a certain simplicity to the four runners working as a team. But inevitably, at least one team struggles during the exchange of the baton causing them to lose all their momentum and fall to the back of the pack.

The publicly traded real estate industry is in its own form of relay race: competing amid a crowded investment field to attract institutional and individual investors. The industry pioneers started the first leg of the race and gained significant ground by taking a misunderstood asset class and placing it in the mainstream as a viable and valuable investment alternative.

Over the last few years as some of these founders have begun to retire, we have witnessed the next generation of REIT leaders taking the baton and preparing to run the second leg of the industry’s journey.

The individuals in this new group of REIT leaders may have different backgrounds and skill sets than their predecessors, but are eminently qualified and well positioned to build on the industry’s momentum and reach new goals. Just look at the success of some of those leaders who are already in place, including those featured in this issue’s cover story, "A New Generation." Even though they might have different styles, it looks like this leg will be as strong as the last.

Also In This Issue

Regulations have increased "The Price of Being Public," and rising costs to meet Sarbanes-Oxley and other requirements has put a great deal of financial pressure on smaller REITs. Will the price of being public outweigh the benefits for some companies, or is it just another cost of doing business that companies will have to account for?

Also in this issue, Institutional Shareholders Services offers the latest results of its Corporate Governance Quotient, ranking 30 of the largest REITs as well as the industry as a whole. Want to know how REITs stack up against other industries when it comes to governance practices; turn to the Best Practices column. But here’s a hint: very well.

Matthew Bechard
Editor-in-Chief