How REITs and Real Estate Mutual Funds Play in Retirement by: Robert Shumake

Whether you are in your 20s or 50s, you should be thinking ahead to what types of investments are going to help you when you get to retirement age. Many people choose stocks, bonds, mutual funds and any number of other commodities on the stock market in hopes they will make them enough money to live comfortably in their retirement years. But you may be wondering what the current economy is doing to your stock market investments.

If you use an online brokerage, you may have watched your investments plummet in response to the past year's market motions. You may be thinking that stocks, mutual funds and any other offering of Wall Street should be off limits. But this is not the case. You need to instead know where to invest and how to make sure you are investing in the right funds and stocks to make your money grow.

One mistake many investors make is to lump all markets together. All of the markets are not the same and they all act differently. It may be a time to look more closely at some of the markets that have a little more backbone than your previous investments. One of these markets is real estate.

Real estate mutual funds and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are an arena many people are not really sure of, but should look at as they are more solid investments thanks to the tangible property backing them up.

The first thing to know about real estate investment trusts and REITs is that they are all based on something that always has value – property. While sure property values can change and shift with the economy, property will always have value, and therefore those companies that are working with property also have a more solid foundation.

The next thing you need to know about REITs and real estate mutual funds is that they are also not just putting all of their eggs in one basket. By their very nature, REITs and real estate mutual funds are built of a number of properties, companies or real estate holdings. That means even if some of them are going through a rough patch, the others may be able to keep things on par or even still continue your overall growth of investment.

Before you purchase real estate mutual funds or REITs you need to be confident that what you are purchasing will bring about a good return on your money. To this end you need to make sure to do your research. You could do this on your own, or allow the pros to help you out. By signing up with an online brokerage company like REITBuyer.com, the first and only online brokerage that specializes in REITs and real estate mutual funds, you will have access to their research on just the investments you are interested in. From education on how to buy to the latest news in your market and hot tips so you know when to buy or sell this is the one site to have it all in the same place.

About The Author

Robert Shumake's mission is to inform the public about mortgage fraud and real estate scams and to provide tips on how to avoid being a victim. "Sometimes people will commit identity theft to obtain a housing loan, sell someone else's house or take over someone else's property," says Shumake. "It is my goal to inform the public on how to protect themselves from being victims of this crime."

http://reitbuyer.com