Columbia Threadneedle Launches Real Estate ETF

It's designed to outperform the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has launched the Columbia Research Enhanced Real Estate ETF (CRED).

CRED tracks a custom, proprietary index and is designed to outperform the FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index through security selection and modified market cap weighting that emphasizes income and geographic opportunity.

A recent Columbia Threadneedle Investments survey found that income diversification and generation were among the top three reasons why financial advisors allocate to real estate. In terms of advisor due diligence, the survey also found that 9-in-10 of financial advisors consider underlying geographic exposure when investing in REIT strategies.

Managed by Christopher Lo and Henry Hom, portfolio managers in Columbia Threadneedle’s Managed and Indexed Portfolio Solutions team, CRED is designed to serve as a core allocation to the U.S. real estate sector in an investment portfolio. The ETF will track the firm’s proprietary Beta Advantage Lionstone Research Enhanced REIT Index, which typically consists of 70-90 REITs weighted across eight sectors, including Specialized, Industrial, Diversified, Hotel & Resort, Residential, Retail, Office, and Health Care REITs.

This custom index represents the first collaboration on a strategic beta solution between Columbia Threadneedle Investments and its institutional real estate investment subsidiary, Lionstone Investments.