I've been looking at adding small positions into some healthcare REITs in my Vanguard IRA. In particular HCP and Healthcare REIT Inc. Possibly a few others. I'm doing this because I want some more REIT exposure and I think healthcare is a good bet for the long term. Anyway, I have more of a practical question - is it possible to invest in individual REITs through Vanguard and get free dividend reinvestment? Since REITs put out so much dividends so often it would be nice to get it reinvested without paying $7 each time (I only qualify for Voyager services).
Thanks!
I don't know about Vanguard in particular, but you should look to see if they allow DRIPs as that is what you are referring to. Most discount brokers allow free DRIPs for stocks you are already invested in.
But if you decide to do this, the cheapest way would be to either buy the REIT index fund or the healthcare fund (or ETF) or both. Buying individual stocks will cost you something. Note that the healthcare index fund is mostly not REIT stocks. And the REIT index fund is mostly not healthcare REITs.
Buying index funds and ETFs cost you something too, just not at time of purchase. 1k invested in VNQ costs you $1.20/yr. Definitely, not expensive, but ETFs even if purchased for free do cost money.