It’s no secret that interest rates have jumped significantly in just a year. Last year, the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage points in four consecutive sessions and then added another 0.5 percentage points in December. These moves marked the fastest pace of rise since the 1980s. Then, last month, the central bank raised interest rates by another 0.25 percentage points, bringing the benchmark rate to between 4.5% and 4.75%, in a bid to lower runaway inflation. As a result, REITs have not had it easy as they are leveraged instruments that are sensitive to interest rate increases. Higher rates not only translate into higher finance costs that crimp distributable income but also make it tougher for REITs to conduct acquisitions to grow their asset base and distribution per unit (DPU). With interest rates poised to rise further, can REITs still manage to grow their DPU? Recent REIT acquisitions The higher rates have not stymied several REITs’ acquisition attempts....