Cannabis REITs: Own The Pharmland
- Cannabis REITs - the best-performing property sector over the past half-decade - have stumbled in early 2022, pressured by the broader growth-to-value rotation and uncertainty over progress on federal legalization.
- Owning the 'Pharmland' - the physical real estate - has been one of the few profitable investments in the cannabis space. Cannabis ETFs have delivered dismal investment performance since 2015.
- Thriving in the murky and often contradictory regulatory framework of legalized marijuana, recent legislative movement on cannabis-related bills has raised questions about the future prospects in a federally-legalized environment.
- Importantly, federal legalization simply shifts the regulation onto the states, many of which have adopted frameworks that are quite favorable to property owners with licenses that are "attached" to real estate.
- While still inherently speculative, valuations now appear quite attractive as these REITs have established a genuine competitive moat, a track record of operational execution, and consistent dividend growth.
