The Active Edge Within Global REITs highlights why active management continues to offer a meaningful and repeatable advantage in global real estate securities. Active global REIT strategies have consistently outperformed passive benchmarks over multi-year horizons, delivering both higher absolute returns and stronger risk-adjusted performance.
This outperformance is driven by the ability to tactically allocate across sectors and regions, identify undervalued opportunities, and avoid structural constraints embedded in major REIT indices. Unlike passive ETFs—which vary widely in methodology, geographic exposure, fee structure, and property-type concentration—active managers can respond dynamically to market signals and invest beyond index limitations.
The paper illustrates how active managers generate alpha through several levers:
- Overweighting high-growth sectors such as senior housing and long-term care
- Accessing off-benchmark opportunities in specialty real estate companies
- Participating early in IPOs and new equity raises
- Anticipating index rebalances and related capital flows
Together, these factors demonstrate that real estate remains one of the few asset classes where active management reliably creates value. Hazelview’s long-standing performance advantage is rooted in our disciplined research process, global reach, and focus on capturing real estate fundamentals that passive strategies often overlook.
