Research illustrates publicly traded REITs' consistent outperformance relative to other forms of commercial real estate investment, according to NAREIT Vice President of Research & Industry Information Brad Case. A NAREIT analysis using data from NCREIF and The Townsend Group found that during the last full business cycle, private equity funds produced an average net total return of 7.7 percent per year for core funds, while value added funds averaged annual net total returns of 8.6 percent and opportunistic funds averaged net total returns of 12.6 percent per year. Publicly traded REITs averaged annual net total returns of 13.4 percent in the same cycle. Case attributes the difference in the level of returns to the essential business model of each asset class. He notes that private equity real estate funds tend to face more pressure to buy and sell properties, even when market conditions are not ideal. Furthermore, Case says the transparency and liquidity built into the REIT model allow for better long-term planning and opportunistic decision making.