Until October 2016, there were no Asian REIT ETFs around.

TMB's unit trust - TMB Property Income Plus Fund which was originally around half Thai REITs/ property funds and half Singapore REITs was launched about 2.5 years back, and somewhat unique in Thailand to have a fund of REITs. As a unit trust though its charges are higher than an ETF.

Phillips capital management then launched the first Asian REIT ETF in October 2016, traded on the Singapore exchange SGX in either SGD or USD. The underlying benchmark it is linked to has a yield of around 4.8%. It doesn't simply follow the index and is a smart beta fund. They focus on the largest dividend paying REITs in Asia

I dipped my toes in with a small amount towards the end of last year. Main reasons:
- I expect a yield of around 5% on it. That's lower than available on Singapore and Thai REITs though
- but does allow some diversification into other Asia areas.
- it focuses on the largest dividend paying REITs in Asia (by amount, not per unit or % yield) so should exceed the index in terms of yield. Yield is only part of any investment story though.
- charges at 0.5% p.a. are not unreasonable for such a specialised fund and lower cost than unit trusts
- as an ETF can be traded simply like shares

I'm not totally convinced by it to be honest, so just dipped my toes in to see how it fares. I like to do this with investments of interest rather than just sit on the sidelines and follow. I find I take it more seriously. The yield is lower than what I usually look for on REITS, but it does lend some diversification. As I start following it's progress it may also throw up other ideas.

They've set out 5 reasons to invest on their website:
- attractive and stable dividend income
- high quality REITs in Asia ex-Japan
- Liquidity and transparency
- Low cost
- Reputable index provider

The liquidity and transparency aspect remains to be seen in my view, and what is written is just theory so far. I've seen ETFs and investment trusts in the past where its difficult to deal in decent sizes and at decent prices.

Also not sure I like the idea of its smart beta in this case - ranking according to total dividends paid. Seems a bit crude to look at total dividends and while skewing to the bigger REITs and bigger dividend payers, these may not always be the most efficient ones.

May be of interest to others. At this stage I wouldn't put large amounts in it though and would like to see its actual track record a while first.

If it can consistently yield around 5% in SGD with a little capital growth and not too much volatility I'll be quite happy with it medium term. Better than having it on SGD cash deposit earning 0.X % a year. Similar downward pressures as mentioned above apply though.

Phillip SGX APAC Dividend Leaders REIT ETF
www.phillipfunds.com/home/etfs

SGX Can also be a useful start for looking up basic info on individual REITs,

with overview info, news summary, financials, etc,

as well as key indicators like price consensus, buy/hold/sell volatility. To be taken with a pinch of salt, but reasonable snapshots

e.g.Ascendas REIT/ AREIT (A17U)

www.sgx.com/wps/portal/sgxweb/home/company_disclosure/stockfacts?code=A17U

One annoying thing about SGX though is the use of its own trading tickers which aren't always intuitive or easy to remember. For SGX it's usually 3 or 4 digits, in this case A17U. While the first digit is OK the rest are annoying if you're searching quickly from memory or doing a quick look up/ search on prices or inputing a trade etc

Bloomberg uses AREIT as the ticker - easy to remember - as does most other people.

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OCBC downgrades Singapore REITs sector to ‘Neutral’ given tough leasing environment

OCBC Investment Research has downgraded the overall Singapore REITs sector from ‘Overweight’ to ‘Neutral’, citing the country's challenging lease environment, and prevailing macroeconomic conditions globally.

In an investment report issued on 23 March, OCBC pointed to key economic data coming out of the United States, which suggest the likelihood of faster-than-expected interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

As such, OCBC projects softer DPU growth for Singapore REITs in FY2017.

“While we believe Singapore REITs still warrant a strategic position in investors’ portfolio in light of uncertainties surrounding the geopolitical and macroeconomic environment, valuations are no longer compelling, in our view”, said the bank, adding that it recommends investors to be selective.

OCBC listed Keppel DC REIT, Frasers Centrepoint Trust, and Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust as its preferred list of REITs that still feature ‘Buy’ recommendations from the bank, despite the downgrade on the sector as a whole.

Fair value estimates for the counters have been listed as SGD1.39, SGD2.28 and SGD1.08 respectively.

www.reitsweek.com/2017/03/ocbc-downgrades-singapore-reits-sector-to-neutral-given-tough-leasing-environment.html

Not sure why you're particularly concerned about the AUD aspect. If you look at the investment trusts you hold, most will be unhedged versus GBP and definitely vs THB. So if you invest in US equities you have USD risk, invest in European you get Euro, EMs various EM currencies and so on. That's life in a modern world. Not necessarily a bad thing either to be diversified across currencies as an expat. As an expat I really couldn't accept all my assets in GBP anyway.

For someone living in Thailand AUD has also been much more stable against THB than GBP over the last decade or so. Not to mention it would have surely have been nicer for someone than the large GBP vs THB hits many UK centric / GBP investors took last year

To be honest I dislike currency hedged collective investments and would prefer unhedged. If the y hedged it would be even less interest to me. Hedging adds extra cost and often those hedging get it wrong anyway if taking views.

The main benefit I would see is diversification and/or for someone starting out/ not wanting to pick individual REITs themselves. Across asset class, geographies and yes even currencies. As mentioned the div yield for me at 5% is lower than I aim for and if I pick my own REITs so there's no management fee etc. So never going to hold a large place in my portfolio either, but I can see a few pluses.

....................."To be honest, I'm really not sure where this would fit into my, or anyone else's, portfolio (except, possibly, if you're a Fosters-drinking, cork-hat wearing, kangaroo-riding, vegemite-loving cobber called Bruce, or Dame Edna)"................................

Or a little baht bus queen !

Very helpful.  Thanks.  I was able to reidentify a REIT I'd researched a couple of years ago (Mapletree Logistic Trust), and then completely forgot the name.  Couldn't relocate it.  By any chance is this one you've looked into and/or own? It would be good to hear your opinion.  This would potentially be my first direct purchase of Singapore stock.