WASHINGTON, DC—Compensation for CEOs and other key REITexecutives this year is expected to be more in line with the payincreases they saw in 2012 than with 2013's levels. For allexecutives concerned, that's probably a good thing, as compensationincreases last year generally lagged those of the year prior, saysFTI Consulting Inc.

Since most REIT compensation committees look to investor returnsfor directional guidance when making year-end compensationdecisions, last year's executive compensation increases “reflectedthe fact that the REIT market was relatively flat in 2013, with theMSCI US REIT Index up only 1% for the year,” compared to 17.77% theyear prior, says FTI's Anthony Saitta. Accordingly, totalcompensation levels for REIT executives increased within a rangefrom 3% to 8% in '13, below the '12 increase range of 5% to10%.

This year, the MSCI index is up once again, as are otherbroad-based indices that REIT boards use a metric for measuringperformance. In the case of the MSCI index, it's 20%, while boththe S&P 500 and the Russell 3000 have managed only single-digitreturns year to date.