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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 do you analyze a REIT for investment? Once an investor has decided on real estate, how does that investor know that he is picking the right REIT?

Dr. Rosen: Our number one criterion is the quality of the real estate itself and the value of the real estate relative to the stock price. So we think that one should try to buy really high-quality real estate through the stock market vehicle, a REIT, at a discount or a small premium to its underlying private real estate value. The second is the quality of the management team. Are they really operators of real estate and have they been in the real estate market for some time as operators — or are they real estate syndicators? There are a number of REITs that are run by people who are financiers and who will raise money but who are really not operators of real estate. Real estate needs to be operated by people who have experience in real estate leasing, development and management. So those two things are key criteria, and the third is a balance sheet that’s conservatively financed.

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: Are there any companies that you would want to highlight to investors to show the diversification of Lend Lease Rosen?

Dr. Rosen: Again, we have four sectors that we’re in today. We mentioned the apartment sector. Another excellent company that we have is Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR). It’s the most diversified high quality management team and the most diversified apartment portfolio that you can buy in the public market.

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.