Global real estate investors may find new opportunities despite consumer and trade headwinds, according to one strategist who sees value in select names across retail, industrial and telecom infrastructure.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Ji Zhang, portfolio manager of global real estate at Cohen & Steers, who shared her top picks in the sector, including Acadia Realty Trust, Crown Castle and Dream Industrial REIT. She said these stocks could benefit from resilient demand and overlooked upside as markets stabilize.
Key Takeaways
- Acadia Realty Trust’s recent weakness may be a buying opportunity amid resilient spending by affluent shoppers.
- The stock’s retail portfolio includes prime assets in SoHo, Melrose Place and Georgetown, where tenant fundamentals remain strong.
- Crown Castle could benefit as AI applications shift to mobile, driving more network demand and higher tower rents.
- Dream Industrial REIT may gain once tariff-related uncertainty fades and industrial demand rebounds.
- Real estate investment trusts remain insulated from tariffs because they collect rent rather than face construction cost swings.
Read the full transcript below:
ANDREW: Let’s talk real estate, though, with an international focus. That’s our theme for Hot Picks today. Our guest says that even though the overall consumer, in many cases, is struggling, demographics are still a positive factor. We’re joined by Ji Zhang, portfolio manager of global real estate at Cohen & Steers. Thanks very much indeed for joining us. Start off with your first idea, if you would — Acadia Realty Trust, trades in New York, AKR being the symbol. What are they all about?
JI: First of all, Andy, thanks for having me. Acadia Realty Trust is a retail company, and over the past decade, brick-and-mortar retail has gone through a massive disruption. People thought they weren’t going to stores anymore, that they would do everything online. The reality is, people still like going to stores for the right experience.
Cohen & Steers is a top shareholder of Acadia. We’ve known this management team for well over a decade, and we’ve walked every single asset in the portfolio. Acadia owns high-quality stores that are well located with relevant brands that people enjoy visiting. These are stores in SoHo, Melrose Place and Georgetown.
You have the stock chart here — it’s down more than 15 per cent year to date. Why? Because of broader concerns about the consumer. But the reality is, Acadia’s portfolio caters to an affluent demographic that’s still doing well and still spending. So, fundamentals for Acadia and its tenants are strong, and that’s the mispricing we see today.
ANDREW: So I think you said they’re in Georgetown — a pretty prosperous part of Washington — and Melrose Avenue in L.A.
JI: That’s right. Those are markets that are broadly struggling, of course, because of what’s going on in Washington and the shutdown there, and L.A. as a market has been tough. But these are select blocks that are well curated and have a bigger draw for the affluent, who are less impacted by what’s happening in the broader market right now.
ANDREW: Another name you have, and it’s an AI play — indirectly anyway — is Crown Castle. It’s a tower company that provides a venue for network equipment for telecom carriers.
JI: That’s right. What’s different about Crown Castle is that it hasn’t seen the lofty valuations we’ve seen in much of the AI market. This stock is still trading well below pre-pandemic levels, so we’d say the upside isn’t priced in.
The thesis here is that when we all do more with AI and more of those applications move to our phones, it’s going to generate a greater need for network equipment. Crown Castle is the tower company that holds the telecom network equipment for wireless carriers. As more applications move to mobile devices, that will strain mobile networks, carriers will need to add more equipment, create more capacity — and that means higher rent for Crown Castle. Again, that upside isn’t yet priced in.
ANDREW: And finally, you have a Canadian idea for us — Dream Industrial REIT. They’re a warehouse company?
JI: That’s right. Before I go into specifics about this company, let me make one point clear — when we look at real estate, it’s generally insulated from tariffs. How can that be? Because REITs are typically landlords that collect rent on existing properties, not merchant developers that are more vulnerable to fluctuations in construction costs.
That said, Dream Industrial — and industrial real estate in general — has been impacted by dampened demand due to tariff-related uncertainty. As you can imagine, Andy, it’s very difficult for retailers to make long-term supply chain decisions in this environment. We think there’s pent-up demand that will return once economic and tariff uncertainty subsides.
Over the long term, we like the supply and demand dynamics for Canadian industrial properties because it’s harder and takes longer to build new product in Canada — so there’s an inherently higher barrier to entry.
ANDREW: That’s interesting. And so DIR.UN is the symbol in Toronto? Not sure if we have that chart. I think we just looked at the over-the-counter in the United States. Yield around 5.6 per cent on Dream Industrial?
JI: That’s right. It’s priced at very attractive values because of the overhang from tariffs, but we think the long-term fundamentals are very good. The portfolio is Canadian and European, and in Canada the properties are in Montreal, Western Canada and, of course, the GTA.
ANDREW: Just as we have you — and it’s a little off topic — when you were talking about retail, we know there’s been this problem with organized shoplifting in both the U.S. and Canada. Has that changed the retail business much? Obviously, it’s costly for store operators.
JI: It’s been a challenge. In some urban locations we’ve seen more impact from shoplifting, and that’s coming back. San Francisco is one of those markets where we’ve seen a lot of retailers exit since the pandemic, and that’s brought more attention from governments to address safety and shoplifting concerns. It needs to be a partnership between the public and private sectors to make the environment livelier — where shoppers can thrive and retailers can continue to do well.
ANDREW: Ji, thank you very much. Ji Zhang, portfolio manager of global real estate at Cohen & Steers.
| DISCLOSURE | PERSONAL | FAMILY | PORTFOLIO/FUND |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKR NYSE | N | N | Y |
| CCI NYSE | N | N | Y |
| DREUF OTCMKTS | N | N | Y |
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the Nov. 11, 2025 interview with Ji Zhang are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
