REITs fall out of line

Shares of real estate investment trusts parted company with U.S. Treasuries this year after tracking them since 2012. The FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index fell as much as 8.5 percent relative to the S&P 500 Index on a total-return basis, including dividends, through Monday. Ten-year Treasury notes rose in the period, reducing their yields as much as 13 percent. 

Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer at Leuthold Group LLC, highlighted the contrast in a report Friday. He wrote about the REITs: “What might they do if yields rise?”