To make comparisons among REITs easier for investors and provide all the information in one place, the Indian REITs Association, with the backing of SEBI, has launched Data Benchmarking Institutions, a central repository of standardised comparable data on the sector.

As part of this initiative, under SEBI’s guidance, three leading financial services companies — CareEdge, CAMS, and KFintech — launched dedicated platforms to house all key information regarding REITs, assisting investors and all other stakeholders with their investment decisions. These platforms will provide comprehensive information and comparative analysis to help investors assess the performance of various Indian REITs.

While the platforms have been launched with information from the four listed REITs now, it will soon be expanded to small and medium REITs, infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) and bonds.

Detailed information

The DBIs will offer investors access to detailed information on REIT performance, operational metrics, valuation standards and disclosures. This will empower investors to make data-driven decisions, allowing for better investment diligence and more informed investment choices.

The idea behind having three institutions disseminating the same data was to provide a wider choice for investors and to avoid a monopoly situation, executive director of SEBI, Pramod Rao, said.

While the basic data would remain the same – publicly available information pertaining to the REITs – what would differ would be the analytics and tools provided by the different platforms so that investors can do their research.

The markets regulator has been promoting REITs as a desirable and separate asset class in addition to existing assets such as equities, debt, gold and real estate.

InvITs and REITs allow investors to take part-ownership in real estate assets, that are pooled and offered to them in the form of units.