CCG Investor Relations Co-Sponsors REIT Virtual Conference: Investing for Yield and Total Return, on March 7th

First Use of Unique Retail Investor Platform for $600bn Publicly-Quoted Real Estate Investment Trust Sector

NEW YORK, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- CCG Investor Relations today announced a March 7th showcase event for Real Estate Investment Trusts, in cooperation with Retail InvestorConferences.com, BetterInvesting (NAIC), PR Newswire, and MUNCmedia. This is the first use of this unique retail investor platform specifically for the $600bn Publicly-Quoted Real Estate Investment Trust Sector, and the 27th in the series using the RetailInvestorConferences.com platform. Individual investors, institutional investors and analysts are invited.

It is recommended that investors pre-register to save time and receive event updates.

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time -- both in the presentation hall as well as the company's "virtual trade booth." If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an on-demand archive will be available for 90 days.

Presenting REITs will include:

• Alexandria Real Estate Equities (NYSE:ARE) owns, operates, manages, develops, acquires, and redevelops properties for the life sciences industry
• DDR Corp. (NYSE:DDR) is an owner and manager of 454 value-oriented shopping centers representing 116 million square feet in 39 states, Puerto Rico and Brazil.
• EPR Properties (NYSE:EPR) Kimco Realty Corporation (NYSE:KIM) is a specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) that invests in properties in select market segments which require unique industry knowledge, while offering the potential for stable and attractive returns.
• Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR) is the second-largest owner and/or operator of self-storage properties and is the largest self-storage management company in the United States
• Kimco Realty (NYSE:KIM) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in New Hyde Park, N.Y. that owns and operates North America's largest portfolio of neighborhood and community shopping centers.
• National Retail Properties (NYSE:NNN) invests primarily in high-quality retail properties subject generally to long-term, net leases. As of December 31, 2012, the company owned 1,622 properties in 47 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 19.2 million square feet.

"CCG is constantly looking for ways that public companies can effectively reach a broader audience and this virtual conference represents a highly efficient way for forward-thinking executives to connect with the often neglected retail segment," said Crocker Coulson, President of CCG Investor Relations.

"In 2012, the Dow Jones Equity All REIT Index delivered a total return of nearly 20%, outperforming the S&P 500 by 4%. With the backdrop of an ultra-low yielding bonds and treasuries, the REIT asset class is drawing increasing attention for the combination of attractive yields with the prospect of long-term capital appreciation. The presenting companies at the REIT Virtual Conference have an average yield of 4.0% and showed growth of FFO per share of an average of 10.4% in 2012. Given the gradual improvement in real estate fundamentals and the greatly strengthened balance sheets of many REITs, investors are taking a closer look at the role of REITs in a balanced portfolio."

Speakers include:

Brad Case, Senior VP Research and Industry Information, NAREIT, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts who will make a 30 minute presentation: "A Guide to REIT Investing"

Brad Case, Ph.D., CAIA, is responsible for conducting original research on real estate investing through REITs in institutional and individual investment portfolios.  Dr. Case has authored numerous magazine and journal articles on topics, including REITs and real estate as inflation hedges, diversification and risk-adjusted performance of REITs relative to other assets, relative performance of REITs and direct real estate, long-term return distributions, lead/lag relationships between REIT returns and direct property values, and correlations and volatilities of REITs and non-REIT stocks. Dr. Case previously was an economist with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. He is an editor of the academic journals Real Estate Economics and Journal of Housing Economics. He earned his Ph.D. in economics from Yale University.

Virtual Conference Format

Following Dr. Case's remarks, these leading REITs will each have a time slot of approximately 20 minutes during which they will lay out the key points of their investment thesis.  This will be followed by Q&A live with participating investors.  After the presentation ends, each REIT will be available in a virtual "trade booth" where investors may view additional corporate materials and chat in real-time with the presenter.  Investors may then wish to become followers of the REITs they have met by opting in to mailing lists for future communications from the REITs.  They may also continue to deepen their understanding of the REIT by revisiting the presentation, which is available for a further 90 days at retailinvestorconferences.com. 

The REIT Sector

REITs, or Real Estate Investment Trusts, are an asset class with unique attractions for both individual and institutional investors. By combining a healthy yield with the potential for equity appreciation, REITs meet the desire of many investors for income AND growth. Research by Ibbotson Associates shows that over the past 30 years, the total return of the FTSE NAREIT index of all public REITs has outperformed broad indexes including the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 and the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index.

Advantages of REITs include:

• Exposure to a real estate asset class through a convenient and liquid instrument,
• Historically ownership has increased investor's total return while lowering overall portfolio risk,
• Dividend growth of REIT shares has outpaced inflation for the past decade

The REIT Virtual Conference provides investors with a convenient introduction to the basics of REIT investing, the recommendations of some of the top analysts and investors in the industry, and the opportunity to learn about investing across multiple REIT sub-sectors.

About CCG Investor Relations

CCG is a leading global investor relations and strategic communications consulting firm. In business for more than 30 years, the agency provides a complete range of investor communications and counseling, through our offices in the US, Israel and China to clients across multiple capital markets. CCG has been awarded a number of industry honors for its handling of complex investor relations and crisis communications matters. For further information, contact CCG directly, or visit the Company's web sites at http://www.ccgir.com/ and http://www.ccgirasia.com/.

For more information, please contact:

Crocker Coulson, President
CCG Investor Relations
Direct: +1 646-213-1915
Email: crocker.coulson@ccgir.com