Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Scott Tominaga Explores Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

 

Exploring Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with Scott Tominaga


A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company structured to own, operate, or provide financing for income-producing real estate properties. These specialized entities, like mutual funds, allow a collective pool of investors to contribute capital, creating a diversified portfolio. According to Scott Tominaga, through this collective investment model, individuals gain the opportunity to receive dividends generated from real estate holdings without direct involvement in property management. REITs offer investors a way to benefit from the real estate market's potential returns while mitigating risks associated with property ownership, making them an attractive option for those seeking passive income streams and diversified real estate exposure in their investment portfolios.

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How do REITs work?
Congress established Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in 1960, enabling everyday investors to access commercial real estate portfolios previously limited to affluent individuals. REITs include a variety of properties such as apartment complexes, data centers, healthcare facilities, hotels, and infrastructure like fiber cables, cell towers, and energy pipelines, alongside office buildings, retail centers, self-storage facilities, timberland, and warehouses. Scott Tominaga explains that while REITs usually focus on specific real estate sectors, some offer diversified options with mixed property types. Many REITs are publicly traded on major exchanges, allowing investors to trade them like stocks, with high liquidity and significant trading volumes.

How can you invest in REITs?
You can explore investment opportunities in publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), including REIT mutual funds and REIT exchange-traded funds (ETFs), by acquiring shares through a broker. If you are interested in non-traded REITs, you can purchase shares through a broker or financial advisor involved in the offering. Additionally, REITs are becoming increasingly prevalent in both defined-benefit and defined-contribution investment plans, offering a diverse range of investment options for individuals looking to diversify their portfolios.

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What are the Pros and Cons of Investing in REITs?
REITs can be a valuable addition to an investment portfolio due to their potential for strong annual dividends and long-term capital growth. Over the past two decades, REITs have shown better total returns compared to the S&P 500 Index, other indices, and inflation rates. Scott Tominaga points out that while they offer ease of trading on public exchanges, mitigating some real estate investment challenges, REITs provide attractive risk-adjusted returns and consistent cash flow. Including real estate in a portfolio can enhance diversification and yield dividend income, often surpassing returns from other investments.

On the downside, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) typically do not offer significant capital appreciation potential. Due to their structure, REITs are required to distribute at least 90% of their income to investors, leaving only a limited portion for reinvestment to acquire new holdings. This can impact the growth potential within the REIT. Scott Tominaga adds that it is important to note that REIT dividends are subject to taxation as regular income, which may affect overall returns for investors. Some REITs may also incur higher management and transaction fees, which could potentially impact investors' net returns.

Scott Tominaga is an experienced professional in the hedge fund and financial services industry. For more on finance and investment, visit this blog.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Scott Tominaga on Understanding and Building Generational Wealth

 

Exploring Generational Wealth Building with Scott Tominaga

Generational wealth refers to assets, such as property, investments, or businesses, passed down from one generation to the next. It involves creating a financial legacy that can offer stability and opportunities for your descendants, ensuring they have a solid foundation for their future endeavors. Scott Tominaga mentions that building generational wealth requires dedication, strategic planning, and financial literacy, as it is not just about amassing wealth but also about managing and preserving it for the benefit of future generations. By establishing a strong financial foothold today, you pave the way for a lasting impact that extends beyond your lifetime, providing a pathway to financial security and prosperity for your family lineage.

Educate yourself financially.
Begin your journey in personal finance by educating yourself. Grasp fundamental concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt. The depth of your understanding will enhance your ability to make well-informed decisions.

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Start investing early and consistently.
Being financially literate empowers you to begin investing early, even with a modest sum. Consistency is key; consistent contributions, regardless of size, have the potential to grow substantially over time. Time becomes an ally in building wealth.

Establish an Emergency fund.
Establish an emergency fund for unforeseen costs. Having three to six months' worth of living expenses saved in a dedicated account serves as a financial safety cushion. This approach helps avoid tapping into long-term investments during challenging periods.

Optimize your investment portfolio through Diversification.
Scott Tominaga says to grow your investments by diversifying across asset classes such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. Diversification aids in risk management and boosts long-term return potential. Real estate investment, in particular, can provide appreciating property values and steady rental income, serving as a tangible asset for future generations.

Plan your retirement.
During the early stages of your career, it's advisable to begin contributing to retirement accounts such as 401(k)s or IRAs. Make the most of employer-sponsored plans by maximizing your contributions. A well-funded retirement not only helps you sustain your lifestyle but also enables you to pass on assets to your heirs. Consider investing in life insurance to safeguard your family's financial future. This safety net can provide crucial support in unforeseen circumstances and serve as a valuable asset for transferring wealth to the next generation.

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Promote financial literacy.
Teach your children and grandchildren about money management. It's crucial to instill good financial habits from a young age. By equipping them with the knowledge and skills to handle money wisely early on, you are empowering them to make informed and prudent financial decisions as they navigate the complexities of personal finance in the years to come.

Scott Tominaga emphasizes that creating lasting wealth for future generations is a process that requires dedication, patience, and meticulous planning. By adhering to these fundamental principles in your financial endeavors, you can lay the foundation for a legacy of prosperity that transcends generations, ensuring a secure and prosperous future for your loved ones long after you're gone.

Scott Tominaga is a professional in the hedge fund and financial services industry and is for all aspects of back-office operations daily, including investor relations and marketing. Learn more about Scott and his background in investment by visiting this page.

Monday, March 4, 2024

Scott Tominaga: Investing with Margin of Safety

 

Scott Tominaga on Understanding Margin of Safety

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The margin of safety in investing is crucial. It represents the percentage variance between a stock's intrinsic value and its current market price. A wider margin of safety provides a cushion against potential errors in optimistic valuation assumptions, thereby safeguarding your investment from undue risks. By carefully considering this factor, investors can enhance their chances of making sound investment decisions and protecting their capital in the volatile world of stock markets. If the current price is $7.50 per share and the intrinsic value is $10 per share, then there is a margin of safety of 25%, explains Scott Tominaga. It's worth noting that intrinsic value is not concrete. It is the sum of subjective inputs and could vary widely depending on the analyst.

The higher the margin of safety, the less risk in your investment. Theoretically, a stock with a 60% margin of safety will fall less than a stock with no margin of safety.

Understanding the margin of safety

Using the margin of safety as a guiding principle in investment decisions is a cornerstone of value investing. While this approach is commonly associated with value investing, it's interesting to note that growth investors also recognize its importance and consider the concept in their analyses.

Value investors generally use one of the methods below to find a stock's intrinsic value:

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Discounted Cash Flow (DCF): With the discounted cash flow model, you project 10 years of future cash flows, notes Scott Tominaga. You then discount the numbers because the money you have now is most probably worth more than the money you might have in the future. The intrinsic value is the sum of the projected future cash flows.

Multiples: Multiples such as price/earnings, price/book, or price/sales allow you to compare the stock with its competitors or the overall market. If the stock has a lower multiple than similar stocks or the overall market, it could have a margin of safety.

Liquidation value: The only way to value some stocks is to discount some of the assets to fair market value and determine what the whole company would go for if sold or broken up, adds Scott Tominaga.

Scott Tominaga is a professional in the hedge fund and financial services industry and is responsible for all aspects of back-office operations daily, including investor relations and marketing. Learn more about Scott and his background in investment by visiting this page.