In Q2 2022 to date, the Straits Times Index (STI) has generated an 8 per cent decline in total returns, while the FTSE Developed Index declined 16 per cent. The iEdge S-Reit Index maintained resilience with a 2 per cent decline in total returns, while the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Index (a benchmark for global Reits) declined 15 per cent.

For the quarter-to-date, Singapore stocks have seen S$1.05 billion of net institutional outflows, reducing the 2022 year-to-date (YTD) net institutional inflow to S$74 million.

The technology sector has continued to weigh on global stocks, with hospitality and real estate also lagging. Banks, technology, and Reits have now booked the most net institutional outflows across the sectors in 2022 YTD. In the YTD, STI’s total returns have maintained at 1 per cent and iEdge S-Reit Index has declined 0.8 per cent. The FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Index declined 18 per cent in the YTD.

From an SGX Research market update last week, the 20 stocks among the most actively traded Singapore stocks that booked the highest net institutional inflows in the YTD proportionate to their current market capitalisation included 5 S-Reits. These 20 stocks averaged 22 per cent total returns in the YTD. The 5 S-Reits were Ascott Residence Trust, Suntec Reit, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Frasers Hospitality Trust, and Keppel Reit. These 5 S-Reits averaged 18 per cent total returns in the YTD and saw combined net institutional inflows exceeding S$300 million.

Over the past 5 trading sessions through to Jun 23, institutional investors were net buyers of Singapore stocks with S$116 million of net inflows, following S$166 million in net outflows for the preceding 5 sessions. The top 5 stocks with the highest net institutional inflows were DBS, Singtel, CapitaLand Investment, Digital Core Reit and Hongkong Land.

Digital Core Reit in its Q1 2022 business update reported a 2 per cent increase in distributable income versus its IPO forecast. In April 2022, Digital Core Reit’s fifth-largest customer, a privately held IT service provider in Toronto, filed for bankruptcy protection. The Reit manager expects to be able to back-fill this capacity, given the tight market conditions in Toronto and updated that the customer event is not expected to impact distribution per unit.

In terms of director acquisitions over the past week, United Hampshire US Reit (UHReit) Management’s non-independent non-executive director David Tuvia Goss on Jun 20 and 22 acquired 500,000 units of UHReit : ODBU 0% at an average price of 60.9 US cents per unit.

UHReit is the first US grocery-anchored shopping centre and self-storage Reit to list in Singapore, and back in May reported Q1 2022 distributable income of US$8.1 million, 7.9 per cent higher than Q1 2021. UHReit completed its inaugural acquisitions of Colonial Square on Nov 12, 2021 and Penrose Plaza on Nov 24, 2021, with both acquisitions contributing positively to Q1 2022 distributable income.

REIT Watch is a weekly column on The Business Times, read the original version.