Investing early in your career can pay huge dividends later in life. Besides reinforcing the savings habit, regularly buying shares of well-selected stocks can leverage the power of compounding to turn small investments into a big nest egg over time.

While flashy growth stocks attract much-deserved attention, relatively unexciting real estate investment trusts (REITs) also deserve a spot in a nicely balanced portfolio. REITs are income-producing properties whose operators are obliged to pay 90% of their taxable income to shareholders.

Two to consider are retail landlord Agree Realty (NYSE: ADC) and digital infrastructure giant American Tower (NYSE: AMT). They are very different companies that have built similar performance records since their initial public offerings (IPOs) in 1994 and 1998, respectively.

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Source Fool.com