The case for investing in an S-Reit ETF

INVESTING in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for Singapore real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) is a good idea. It is a one-stop shop for Reit investors who do not want to stock pick, and it also allows investors to diversify without spending too much. The only possible disadvantage is that some tightly held and smaller Reits may not offer enough liquidity for ETFs to buy into.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) had earlier said that it would be launching an S-Reit ETF in the second half of this year, but when approached for this article, it said it was unable to provide a timeline.

Despite the market's anticipation, there is surprising little that is known about the ETF except that it will track the performance of the SGX S-Reit 20 Index launched in December 2015. The index measures the performance of the 20 largest and most tradable S-Reits on the loc…