Real estate investment trusts now appear in many different varieties around the world: Fundos de Investimento Imobiliário (Brazil); Fiscal Beleggings Instelling (Netherlands); Sociétés d'Investissements Immobiliers Cotées (France); (Greece); (Japan); Sociedades de Inversión Inmobiliaria (Spain); and Gayrimenkul Yatirim Ortakligi (Turkey), to name a few.

Regardless of what they are called, REITs and their listed real estate counterparts have become a significant force in the global property markets and are increasingly valued as a source of dividends and diversification for investors the world over. In this Real Estate Portfolio Special Issue, we explore the issues and trends impacting the burgeoning global securitized real estate market.

Although many of today's U.S. REITs have been publicly listed for little more than a decade, the REIT opportunity has been in place in the U.S. for 45 years and has been fine-tuned over that time. U.S. investors have witnessed the evolution of REITs from a very small niche in the overall U.S. commercial property market to the unmistakable force they constitute today.

A handful of U.S. REITs have successfully crossed borders and expanded their portfolios into other countries. "Global Positioning" looks at the strategy behind some of these companies' international operations and the results they are seeing. In contrast, "There's No Place Like Home" looks at the reasons why some U.S. REITs have decided the best strategy is to focus solely on their domestic holdings.

The evolution that U.S. REITs have experienced is currently taking place, in varying stages, in countries across the globe. REIT-like structures are in place or under consideration in approximately two dozen countries. In this issue, we take a look at the listed real estate markets in 23 countries and provide a snapshot from each of the countries of the existing or proposed REIT structure, leading companies and economic and demographic factors.

For another perspective, Fraser Hughes, research director at the European Public Real Estate Association, analyzes the likelihood of a pan-European REIT and Chris Reilly, founding member of the Asian Public Real Estate Association, discusses what's next in the rapidly growing Asian real estate market.

Regardless of the country, investor demand for listed real estate is increasing.

"Investing in the Global Market" reviews the global opportunities that real estate investors now have available to them and how their expectations and needs have changed. In addition, FTSE Chief Executive Mark Makepeace and Barclays Global Investors Managing Director Amy Schioldager debate the role global indexing will play going forward.

So no matter the name or the place, REITs and listed real estate are proving to be efficient and effective investments in countries across the globe. Moreover, the globalization of real estate securities is only in its early stages and changes are occurring rapidly. Real Estate Portfolio will continue to track these events, and we look forward to sharing with our readers future developments in real estate and securitized real estate investing around the world.

Matthew Bechard
Editor in Chief