A main theme of the German Equity Forum Fall 2006 was REITs. Which business model is best suited to a REIT company? How is this company evaluated? Or, which legal structure will REITs be given in Germany? These, and many other questions were discussed at the German Equity Forum Fall 2006. Here is a selection of the most important REITs contributions for downloading:  Introduction to the Theme REITs on the Stock Exchange G-REITs from the perspective of the Stock Exchange: REITs is a special asset class. Martin Steinbach, Head of Issuer Relations at Deutsche Börse, describes the possible route a G-REIT will take to the Stock Exchange and outlines the planned Segment. The REIT Experience in Asia and the US. Moreis Scobie of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt has been working with REITs as an asset class for many years, mostly in Asia. He describes the international REIT markets and the investors active in them, what the German market can learn from these markets and how the German market may develop. REITs in Practice The road from a property company to a G-REIT. Dirk Matthey, financial director of IVG Immobilien AG, views REITs as the best of two worlds combined. Until now the draft legislation has been nothing but patchwork, hampering the introduction of this new asset class. He presents the opportunities and potential difficulties with the introduction of REITs from the perspective of a pan-European property company. The REITs experience: Building dividends and diversification. Abigail McCarthy is Senior Director at NAREIT and talks about the experience with REITs in the USA, where the market volume of this investment class has climbed to about 424 billion US dollar. For McCarthy REITs possess a number of characteristics, which could make them „core assets” in portfolios, namely diversification, dividends, liquidity, performance and transparency. Evaluation of REITs from the perspective of the analyst. Georg Kanders of the WestLB deals with existing approaches to REIT evaluation. He illuminates the most important ratios, their components as well as their advantages and disadvantages: Profit after EBIT, FFO, DCF and especially net asset value (NAV).
Structures and Tax Aspects Converting to a G-REIT. Karl Hamberger of Ernst & Young addresses the tax concepts of REITs from the perspective of the parent company and the REIT itself, as well as on the level of the investor. He illustrates the conversion process of a REIT at the hand of three examples and discusses the 75-75-90 model. The on-going business operations of a G-REIT. Andreas Knebel and Endrik Lettau look forward with a talk about opportunities and difficulties facing a listed G-REIT. Will it be allowed for the issuers of a G-REIT to take a stake in a foreign REIT? And could a REIT be blackmailed, for instance by small shareholders? Case Studies and Alternatives The conversion of listed property companies into REITs. Matthias Moser, managing director of Fortress Deutschland, describes the pros and cons of a conversion and analizes the planned exclusion of residential property. Real Estate on the Stock Exchange: Which models work and which don't. Presentation by Joseph Houlihan of Houlihan Rovers about the international REIT market and the factors for success. Synthetic REITs: More than merely Plan B? Hans Volkert Volckens describes alternatives to the German REIT, in particular the synthetic REIT, a REIT-like company without the status of a REIT. | 
