A REIT is a company that may own or operate, by way of direct investment, a portfolio of income-generating real estate properties. A REIT may be publicly traded on an exchange, or may be a privately held consortium comprising investors or investor groups that pool their resources, expecting to generate a return. Typical REITs are categorized as equity based, mortgaged based, or a combination of both classes of investments. REITs were created to allow individual investors the opportunity to invest in real estate in a fashion similar to the way in which individual investors invest in the equities of companies through the use of a mutual fund.