Steve Buller, portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments, participated in a video interview at Nareit’s 2018 CEO Forum & Advocacy Day.
Buller commented on similarities between REIT market performance today, where REITs are lagging the performance of growth stocks, with that of 1998-1999. “Eventually that should correct itself,” he said.
Other factors weighing on REIT performance today are interest rates and slowing fundamentals, Buller noted. This has created a situation where REITs are trading at large discounts to their net asset value (NAV), which could prompt private equity or other capital sources to take advantage of the discount, he said.
In terms of overall fundamentals, Buller described them as “good, not great.” However, “people need to see that good growth is okay,” he added.