The impact of the global financial crisis on A-REITs

A-REITs have previously been highly successful indirect property investment vehicles in Australia. However, the global financial crisis has had a significant impact on the performance of A-REITs in 2007-09. This has seen the factors of international property exposure, high debt levels and stapled securities structures having an impact on A-REIT performance. This paper assesses the changing risk profile and portfolio diversification benefits of A-REITs over 1996-2008, specifically identifying the impact of international property, high gearing and property development activities on the performance and risk profile of A-REITs in the current global credit crisis. The impact of high gearing is seen to be the most critical factor in recent A-REIT under-performance