The performance and significance of Islamic REITs in a mixed-asset portfolio

Abstract

Islamic Real Estate Investment Trusts (I-REITs) have been established to enhance the Islamic Capital Market. Almost 10 years of establishment of I-REITs, it is interesting to study the performance of this Islamic property investment vehicle because it is a potential and unique asset class that not fully explored. This paper examines the risk-adjusted performance analysis and correlation analysis between I-REITs in a mixed asset portfolio. The time period of study is from November 2008 to December 2014. I-REITs were compare in a mixed asset portfolio consists of shares and bonds. The results show that I-REITs outperform both shares market and bonds market. While I-REITs give high diversification benefits for the share and bond investors with low correlation between I-REITs, shares and bonds.