REIT ETF

See: Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). See: Real Estate Investment Trust - REIT.

Think about those science fiction movies where the mad scientist uses cloning techniques to create super-hybrids, either for the military, or to populate his creepy private island. Gorilla-hawks. Alligator-lions. Etc.

A REIT ETF is kind of like that. It combines two investment structures. REIT stands for "real estate investment trust." It's a corporate setup that gives investors access to real estate companies. REITs include things like owners of malls or commercial high rises...even things like prisons. Anything where the money is earned from rents from real estate.

ETFs, meanwhile, usually give access to a basket of securities that trade as a single stock. They often track indexes (like the S&P 500) or particular industries.

A REIT ETF is simply an ETF that tracks a collection of REITs. Not just one particular company, but a basket of companies. It allows you to invest in real estate, while getting some diversification. You don't have the risk that one particular company will tank just because its particular management team is staffed with morons. You purchase one investment vehicle (the ETF) and get access to a bunch of REITs at once.