Rising interest rates have led investors to dump income-oriented investments like real estate investment trusts (REITs). Why take on a potentially risky stock when you can buy a relatively safe CD with a 5% yield? The problem is that CDs don't offer the opportunity for business, and thus income, growth.

That's why you might want to consider REITs that are trading near their low points, like Realty Income (NYSE: O) and (NYSE: VTR).

With a market cap that's roughly 3 times larger than its next-closest rival, Realty Income is the undisputed king of the net lease sector. In fact, it just agreed to buy one of its smaller peers, Spirit Realty Capital, in a $9.3 billion transaction. What's important here is that Realty Income has the heft to do things that its smaller peers simply can't. That includes acting as an industry consolidator, but it can also make larger property acquisitions (including multi-property portfolios), as well. That's a big point of differentiation.

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Source Fool.com