Comparison of Types

Aspect	REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust)	Real Estate Fund	Real Estate Syndicate
Structure	Public or private, typically listed on stock exchanges	Pool of investors investing in multiple properties or assets	Group of investors pooling funds for a single property/project
Ownership	Investors own shares of the REIT	Investors own shares of the fund	Investors own a percentage of the specific property
Investment Focus	Broad portfolio of properties across various sectors (commercial, residential, etc.)	Focus on a diversified portfolio of real estate assets	Focus on a single property or project
Investor Involvement	Passive investors, no control over individual properties	Passive investors, no control over individual properties	Passive investors with limited control over the property
Liquidity	Highly liquid (for publicly traded REITs)	Varies (private funds may have limited liquidity)	Illiquid, long-term commitment
Minimum Investment	Can be as low as a few hundred dollars for public REITs	Varies, typically higher minimums than REITs	Higher minimum investment, typically in the tens of thousands
Capital Raising	Publicly traded REITs raise capital from the market, private ones from accredited investors	Funds raise capital from a group of investors	Each new syndicate raises capital individually for a specific project
Fees	Management fees, acquisition fees, and sometimes performance fees	Management fees, acquisition fees, and sometimes performance fees	Acquisition fees, asset management fees, disposition fees, and profit-sharing (promote)
Income Distribution	Dividends from rental income and capital gains, usually paid quarterly	Dividends or distributions from rental income and capital gains	Distributions from property income and profits, typically after preferred returns
Diversification	Highly diversified across different types of properties and regions	Typically diversified across multiple assets, may focus on a sector	Limited to the specific project or property
Management	Managed by a professional team, usually experienced in real estate	Managed by a professional team, may have different levels of involvement	Managed by a General Partner (GP) or Syndicator with real estate expertise
Risk	Diversified risk across multiple properties, but still exposed to market fluctuations	Varies depending on the fund's strategy and diversification	Higher risk due to focus on a single property or project