India, Oct. 5 -- Think of an SM REIT as a pool of money collected from many investors, like you, to buy and manage income-generating real estate such as offices, warehouses, or shopping centres.

Instead of you buying a property yourself, the SM REIT owns and manages the properties, and you just invest a small amount to get a share of the rental income and property value growth.

Traditional REITs handle very large properties worth over Rs.500 crore. SM REITs on the other hand deal with smaller portfolios between Rs.50 to Rs.500 crore. This makes them more affordable for regular investors.

"Regulated by SEBI, they follow the same compliance and disclosure norms and are required to distribute most of their earnings, ensuring a transparent...