New Delhi, Aug. 5 -- Many investors mistake Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) for fixed-income investments because they pay regular distributions.

Edelweiss Mutual Fund MD & CEO Radhika Gupta mentioned that this is a myth. "Too many investors still think of REITs as fixed income. They aren't. They're an equity asset class with cash flow-generating real estate underneath," she wrote in a post on X.

While Gupta explains why REITs should not be viewed as debt, Vaibhav Porwal, Co-founder of Dezerv, elaborates on the structural and regulatory differences that separate REITs from both equities and fixed-income products.

Gupta says the biggest difference lies in the source of returns. "A larger share of REIT returns comes from regular inc...