REITs and Utility Companies Yield More than S&P 500

Not all markets are created equal. At least, according to this newest infographic. According to FactSet, over a 20 year average annual total return, which would include capital gains and dividends, REITs or Real Estate Investment Trusts have returned more than the S&P 500.

And this gain over the S&P 500 is pretty significant: 4.82% higher gain than the S&P 500. Even more interesting, the S&P Utilities index also yielded more than the S&P 500 by over 1%! That seems to be counter intuitive that a lower risk based asset yields more than an index, but in a lower interest rate environment, REITs, Utilities, and higher dividend players can have an advantage. With lower interest rates, companies can invest in longer term fixed assets and gain a better spread, as the rate these earning assets help produce is not affected as much.

So next time you think a utility company or a REIT is boring, check out the graph below!