1. Management companies (closed-end funds and real estate funds) are also required to be incorporated in Italy.
2. IFIC (Investment Funds Institute of Canada) president Keith Douglas acknowledges real-estate funds have their drawbacks, but cites three good reasons for buying them as long-term investments: Their returns, though lower in many cases than those of an equity fund, also are less volatile - a feature that conservative investors find attractive. The investor gets to share in rental income that in many cases could return about 15 per cent annually. In most cases there are benefits such as tax write-offs for depreciation.
