Who can benefit from indirect participation in the real estate market through a REIT?

Indirect participation in the real estate market through a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) primarily benefits individual investors who own shares in the REIT. This structure allows individuals to invest in real estate without having to directly purchase, manage, or finance properties.

By owning shares in a REIT, individual investors can gain access to a portfolio of real estate assets, which may include commercial properties, residential buildings, or other types of real estate, providing diversification that would be difficult to achieve independently. Additionally, REITs offer liquidity since their shares can typically be bought or sold on major stock exchanges, allowing individual investors to enter or exit their positions more easily than if they were directly investing in real estate.

The other groups mentioned do not encapsulate the broader audience that REITs are designed to serve. Large institutional investors may have different vehicles and strategies for real estate investment that do not involve the public market structures of REITs. Mutual fund managers can invest in REITs, but they do not solely represent the benefit of indirect participation; their focus is more on portfolio management than individual retail investment. Government bodies may engage with REITs or invest in real estate, but they are not the target beneficiaries of REIT structures intended mostly for individual investors