If you are a retired investor trying to maximize the income your portfolio generates, chancing upon a real estate investment trust (REIT) with a roughly 13% dividend yield might seem like finding a diamond in the rough. That's just not the case when it comes to Annaly Capital Management (NYSE: NLY). Here's why this stock is not the bargain you may think it is.

The big story with Annaly is that it is a mortgage REIT (m-REIT). While a property-owning REIT can be a fairly reliable and boring business, m-REITs are often the polar opposite. Mortgage REITs kind of go against the logic of why REITs were created in the first place -- to provide individual investors access to institutional-level properties. The idea is simple enough; a REIT buys physical property and leases it out, just like you might do with a second house. It's not a complex business model and, done well, not a risky one, either.

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Source Fool.com