These 3 REITs Can Help Recession-Proof Your Portfolio
Recessions, or prolonged economic downturns, are a part of economic life that can not be avoided. That's important for investors to keep in mind as they pick stocks, because the best way to deal with these cyclical events is to pick companies that can survive through them. Three real estate investment trusts (REITs) you'll want to examine on that score are Realty Income (NYSE: O), W.P. Carey (NYSE: WPC), and National Retail Properties (NYSE: NNN). Here's why.
Recessions happen and will likely always happen because of human nature's unfortunate history of taking things to extremes. Downturns can be thought of as a way to clean up after a bout of unjustified euphoria. But here's the thing -- there have been three recessions since 1998. One was so bad it was named the Great Recession. REIT W.P. Carey held its initial public offering in 1998 and, despite those economic downturns, it has increased its dividend every year since. That puts it on the cusp of 25 years, which is Dividend Aristocrat land.
The dividend streaks at Realty Income and National Realty are even more impressive, at 27 years and 32 years, respectively. These landlords have faced the storm of recession and not only lived to fight another day, but continued to reward investors right through the downturn. That's the type of perseverance that you should be looking for when trying to recession-proof your portfolio.
Source Fool.com
