Broad, cheap U.S. REIT income — the yield is moderate and the payer base is wide. USRT paid $1.76 per share over the trailing 12 months, a 2.79% trailing yield at the $62.94 close on October 27, 2026, from 127 U.S. equity REITs excluding mortgage, timber, and infrastructure REITs, led by Welltower (9.32%) and Prologis (6.88%). The 0.08% expense ratio passes §7, annual distributions rose from $1.54 in 2021 to $1.75 in 2025, and the 1-year total return is about 9%. The top 10 holdings are 49.2% of assets, reported as information only for a sector ETF.
Key risk: Rate sensitivity — REIT prices fall when long rates rise, and the December quarter carries a disproportionate share of the annual payout, so quarterly income is lumpy.
Changes if: The broad REIT payer base starts cutting in sync, the yield climbs out of the moderate band, or the expense advantage is lost.
- ✓Expense check 0.08% is at the §7 pass threshold (≤0.10%).
- ✓Yield check 2.79% trailing is the moderate band — no §8 trigger; payout is rent-backed equity-REIT income.
- ✓Coverage check 127 equity REITs; no single holding can break the distribution; mortgage/timber/infrastructure REITs excluded.
- ✓5-year dividend-growth check Annual totals $1.537 (2021) → $1.714 (2022) → $1.727 (2023) → $1.632 (2024) → $1.747 (2025); positive over 5 years, uneven year to year.
What this grade doesn't say: It screens the dividend only — covered, real, compounding. It says nothing about valuation or price: a well-covered payer can still be overpriced, and its price can still fall.