FRIDAY Fund – USRT is iShares Core US REIT ETF

One sector of the economy is difficult to escape. Real estate is connected to just about everything, including health care, housing, businesses and even advertising along the highways. For example, one of the companies I own is Lamar Advertising Co (LAMR) and it is classified as a real estate company. Therefore, it is no surprise that Blackrock’s iShares REIT ETF includes LAMR along with another 158 different REIT investments.

The expense ratio for USRT is sensible, and the current yield is respectable. However, it would be a mistake to view this as a dividend growth investment. 2017’s total dividend was less than the 2016 dividend, but 2018 recovered nicely. It is difficult to know what 2019 will look like. Real estate can be volatile.

Fidelity not only offers their own ETF’s commission-free, they also offer 328 of the iShares ETFs commission free as well. You can explore this on the Fidelity site. A word of caution: don’t buy an investment solely because it is commission-free. However, if it is free of a commission, and it is a good ETF, it means you can buy small quantities over time and not see a $4.95 charge each time you buy. Always verify that the commission status has not changed. This can happen with some ETFs offered by Fidelity.

Always do the basics first by investing in broad index-based ETF’s that cover the S&P 500 or dividend focused ETF’s like VYM and SCHD. Then consider funds that focus on the sectors that you find attractive as long-term investments.