What State Budgets Cut First Tells You Everything
When states cut arts funding, it’s a signal of deeper budget stress. Here’s how you can rotate into resilient federal and private sectors before the next fiscal knife falls.
Strategy and Allocation
Urban Disorder: Investors Take Note
An assault in Cincinnati going viral highlights growing concerns about urban safety and the financial ripple effects in the real estate market. Here’s how you can position your portfolio with broad REITs exposure.
By Joseph Sherman
A viral video out of Cincinnati showed a woman being punched unconscious in broad daylight while trying to de-escalate a street fight during a public festival. The footage showed her motionless on the pavement while others continued to brawl around her. She later revealed she suffered severe brain trauma and fractured bones.
Since then, the police have charged several suspects, but the storyline has only worsened. Nothing says “invest elsewhere” like a city council member suggesting the victim “begged for that beatdown,” drawing swift condemnation from political leaders and national media attention.
Why Urban Disorder Matters
This incident, as well as the recent murder of a woman on a light rail train in North Carolina, hit a raw nerve and confirmed what millions already sense: public safety in American cities is unraveling.
According to Gallup, the share of U.S. adults who feel unsafe walking alone at night is the highest in 30 years: one in four households now report not feeling safe even in their own homes. That public-safety unease is now a market force, reshaping where people live, spend, and invest:
People move out of city centers and into suburbs or smaller towns. Retail businesses in urban areas see declining foot traffic. Urban insurance costs spike, or coverage is denied altogether. Municipal bondholders lose confidence in city solvency. And tourism and local tax revenue take a hit.
The investment play is simple: follow the U-Hauls, capital, and people to where they feel secure. We handpicked a strategy for you that does just that.
Your REIT Finance Play
REITs have demonstrated strong performance during market turbulence. Residential REITs own and manage single-family and multifamily housing in the ‘flight to safety’ markets. Industrial REITs benefit from supply chains and e-commerce hubs that are built closer to suburban areas. Unlike distressed city-center real estate, these REITs collect steady revenue in safer growth areas.
Bottom Line
For the “flight to suburbs” thesis, REZ offers the most direct alignment with Sunbelt-focused residential and multifamily REITs. VNQ and SCHH provide lower-cost diversification, while IYR extends the scope into real estate operators. REITs remain a compelling way to capture demographic shifts and income stability, but you should balance your allocation with broad diversification.
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