Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) are professionally managed companies that invest in real estate, mortgages and real estaterelated assets on behalf of their investors. Established in 1960, REITs were designed to democratize real estate investing by providing retail investors with the opportunity to obtain passive gains from large-scale, income-producing real estate and mortgage portfolios. REITs typically receive preferential tax treatment in the form of no entity-level tax and are required to distribute at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends each year.