Janus Henderson Group Debuts US Real Estate ETF

Janus Henderson Group plc JHG has launched an exchange-traded fund focused on the U.S. commercial real estate market.

What Happened: The new Janus Henderson U.S. Real Estate ETF (JRE) is aimed at equity strategy investing in real estate investment trusts and real estate-related securities. In announcing the new ETF, the company stated its focus “may include cell towers, data centers, gaming REITs, cold storage and more, without bias toward style, property type or market cap.”

Greg Kuhl and Danny Greenberger were named portfolio managers of JRE, and the company added this new endeavor is a “natural product extension” of its Global Real Estate team, which has more than $3 billion in global assets under its management.

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What Else Is Happening: The REIT sector has shown considerable vibrancy this year, particularly in terms of mergers and acquisitions. Newly published data by JLL JLL Capital Markets’ M&A and Corporate Advisory Group found REIT M&A activity has totaled $70 billion year-to-date, which puts it on target for surpassing the full-year record of $103 billion in volume set in 2006.

Much of this year's volume is coming from REIT subsectors that underperformed during 2020 but are now getting a new shot of energy. JLL reported the retail REIT subsector enjoyed a 46% gain year to date in 2021, with hospitality at 17%, office at 16%, and the multifamily housing, hotel, mall, office, shopping center and gaming REITS each up 14%.

“We are seeing this cyclical rotation among the previously out-of-favor sectors, and it’s a positive message to broader real estate that everything is starting to improve,” said JLL Managing Director Sheheryar Hafeez. “The expectations of ‘back to normal’ economic activity is leading investors to bet on these sectors rebounding."

Photo by JJBers / Flickr Creative Commons.