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Seven money managers examine portfolio management strategies in the latest issue of The Wall Street Transcript, available at (212/952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/info/info505.htm

TWST: How has the integration of technology within REITs been a driving factor?

Dr. Rosen: I think, if anything, the move that took place in the boom of 1999 and 2000 was a distraction, and a number of REITs had to take write-offs in their attempts to ride the technology wave. We discouraged them from doing it. We thought it was a bad idea; we thought it was a bubble. But there is some long-term gain in technology, and that gain comes from making their operations more efficient — information transfer, knowing better what their tenants want and are doing. That’s a positive. But I think the losses that have been taken by companies have all been written down — I think almost all the companies have written down their stuff to very low levels, if not zero. It was a mistake. They tried to ride the technology wave and get their stocks, the multiples, higher. It was just a mistake.

TWST: What is your outlook for the regional economies? Any strengths? Any weaknesses that you’ve identified?

Dr. Rosen: We have a nationwide recession going on, and there is almost no place immune to that recession. We’re seeing it in San Francisco, we’re seeing it in New York, we’re seeing it most everywhere in the country. There are some places that are stronger. Southern California and Washington, DC, are showing less of a recessionary effect because there is more military and government spending in those locations; Florida has been doing better than other places because of the retirement population still flowing there; and I would say Texas has shown less of a recession than other places. But it’s pretty much a national recession with the Midwest probably bearing an extra burden — an earlier burden and a bigger burden — because of the impact from manufacturing. Atlanta, which is in the Southeast, has also seen a big impact from this recession because of the layoffs that have happened in the airline industry and in telecommunications. So places that have extra exposure to telecommunications and technology have been hurt worse than other places. But it’s pretty much uniform, though maybe a percent or two worse in places like Atlanta, New York and San Francisco than Southern California and Florida, which are actually still positive.

TWST: Let’s talk about some specific REITs now. What are your largest holdings, and why?

Dr. Rosen: Again, we go for the highest-quality real estate and the highest-quality management, feeling that they are going to be less affected by the recession and able to manage through it better because of the financial controls and the quality of real estate they have. So our largest holding is a company called Equity Office Properties (NYSE:EOP). It also is the largest REIT and in the S&P 500. No question, they have the highest quality portfolio of office buildings available. It’s very well diversified around the country. And it has a management team that is unsurpassed in the office market. There are several very-good-quality management teams, but they are certainly the highest quality, from the chief executive officer and chairman, to the chief financial officer, to the people running the properties.

This special Investing Strategies Report includes:

1) Investing in REITS - William K. Morrill, Jr. and Keith R. Pauley, both Managing Directors at LaSalle Investment Management, examine portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 6,800-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

2) Investing in REITS - Damon J. Andres, Vice President at Delaware Investments, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 2,800-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

3) Investing in REITS - Kenneth T. Rosen, Chief Executive Officer and Michael A. Torres, President, both respectively at Lend Lease Rosen Real Estate Securities, examine portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 4,600-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

4) Kyle Prechtl Legg, President at Legg Mason Capital Management, examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,900-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.

5) Richard D. Steinberg, President at Steinberg Global Asset Management, Ltd., examines portfolio management strategies in this timely and deeply informative 3,900-word interview from The Wall Street Transcript.