REITs with an above average percentage of women on their boards achieved higher average price and total returns in the period between 2006 and 2017, a new study from Wells Fargo shows.
The study compared 165 equity REITs with more than the 15.5 percent average of women on their board to those REITs with no female representation. The data showed an average price outperformance of 1.93 to 2.33 percentage points and a total return outperformance of 1.33 to 1.69 percentage points during the period.
The representation of women on equity REIT boards has increased in the past decade from approximately 8.5 percent to 15.5 percent, with the greatest increase seen in the last five years. However, representation still lags the 22 percent average female board representation for companies in the S&P 500, according to the report.
Wells Fargo found that women comprised at least one quarter of boards at 40 of the 165 REITs analyzed. At the same time, 34 companies had no women on their boards, and 30 of those companies had never had a woman on their board since 2006.
Meanwhile, with 40 percent of its board comprised of women, LTC Properties, Inc. (NYSE: LTC) topped Wells Fargo’s list of REIT female board representation.
Wells Fargo Study - Real Estate: It's A Man's World On REIT Boards But It Pays To Include Women
(Contact: Bonnie Gottlieb at bgottlieb@nareit.com)