Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are usually considered income investments, so some investors panic and sell them when interest rates are rising. But the Federal Reserve’s recent change in policy should put that fear to rest.

Meanwhile, you can see that REITs have performed very well compared to the broader stock market in the long run. We list S&P 500 REITs, sorted by yield, below.

We pointed out in August that a knee-jerk reaction to avoid REITs when interest rates are rising isn’t supported by performance. A rising-rate environment is typically one that also features significant economic growth, which means a REITs’ rental income and earnings will rise. This tends to offset negative price action from rising rates.

The Fed’s recent change in direction may have eliminated the usual fear of interest-rate increases, at least for now.

And the silver lining is that REITs as a group have measured up well against the broader stock market over long periods. Here’s how the S&P 500 REIT industry group’s total returns (with reinvested dividends) have compared to the entire S&P 500 SPX, +1.05% over various periods. First, we’ll show total returns and then average annual returns.

Total returns through Feb. 15, except as indicated:

S&P 500 REITs S&P 500 2019 12.7% 11.0% 2018 -2.1% -4.4% 2 years 20.3% 22.9% 3 years 42.3% 58.3% 5 years 61.8% 67.3% 10 years 388.2% 314.5% 15 years 275.6% 230.2% Source: FactSet

You can see that the 10-year figures are distorted because in early 2009, we were close to the market bottom that followed the deep declines experienced during the credit crisis.

It might be more useful to compare average annual total returns over long periods:

S&P 500 REITs S&P 500 2 years 9.7% 10.9% 3 years 12.3% 16.5% 5 years 10.1% 10.8% 10 years 18.4% 15.3% 15 years 9.2% 8.3% Source: FactSet

The 15-year figures are particularly interesting. Despite the 2008-2009 crisis, the REITs have performed better than the S&P 500, even though the full index is so heavily weighted to large tech stocks, such as Facebook FB, +2.66% , Apple AAPL, +1.57% , Amazon AMZN, +5.69% , Netflix NFLX, +0.78% and Google holding company Alphabet GOOG, +2.39% GOOGL, +2.07% .

S&P 500 REITs: yields and returns

While we have compared total returns with dividends reinvested, you won’t be reinvesting if you are buying REIT shares for income.

It is very important to consider your investment objective. Even if you are not investing in REITs for income, they can help you diversify your portfolio. You should also consider a REIT’s particular specialty and growth prospects when deciding whether to invest.

Here are all 32 REITs in the S&P 500, sorted by dividend yield:

So a high dividend yield can be a very good thing if income is your objective. But as you can see, the best 15-year performer on the — SBA Communications Corp. SBAC, +2.66% — doesn’t even pay a regular quarterly dividend.

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