FINSUM
How to Pick the Best Real Estate Investments
(New York)
When people think of real estate investing, their most likely areas of focus is on homes, apartments, or various types of commercial buildings. But Barron’s has run a piece chronicling a very well-performing fund that takes an entirely different approach—investing in property where tenants cannot move, at all. To be clear, this means things like data centers, hydroelectric dams, cellphone towers, and lab space. Large casinos also have this immovable characteristic because of the investment it takes to create them. This type of investing approach has yielded very strong returns over the last few years.
FINSUM: Buying into properties where tenants can’t move creates a very strong defense against economic downturn. This is definitely a good hedge to use against many asset classes and can be achieved using REITs.
Facebook May Start a Dividend
(San Francisco)
While they are far from young or immature businesses, so-called FNAG stocks have all stuck to the current entrepreneurial mantra of not paying a dividend. That may be about to change as Facebook may soon be compelled to start issuing one. The company has 2 bn users and is reaching the limits of its growth potential. If headline growth starts to slow, which it almost inevitably will, expect investors to start demanding dividends and buybacks. Non FANG, but closely related stocks, such as Apple, Microsoft, and Intel, are all paying or raising dividends.
FINSUM: Dividends and buybacks would be a very positive driver for Facebook’s stock price, especially if they started before growth began to wane.