Cohen & Steers Celebrates Thirty-Year Anniversary of its Flagship Realty Shares Fund

NEW YORK, July 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Cohen & Steers (NYSE: CNS), a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, celebrates the 30^th anniversary of the Cohen & Steers Realty Shares Fund ("the Fund", ticker: CSRSX). Over its 30-year history, the fund, rated four stars by fund tracker Morningstar Inc., (overall based on risk-adjusted returns among 228 Real Estate funds as of June 30, 2021), has delivered an 11.8% annualized total return, outperforming the S&P 500 by 116 basis points per year.

Launched in 1991 by Martin Cohen and Robert Steers, the Fund was among the first to focus exclusively on REITs and real estate securities with a vision to open the commercial real estate market to individual investors. Today, with $7.5 billion in assets, the Fund has successfully helped investors build wealth and generate tax-advantaged income over multiple market cycles.

Robert Steers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said:
When we launched the fund, REITs were still relatively unknown to most investors. It took courage for financial advisors and consultants then to see the opportunity in listed real estate and recommend Cohen & Steers Realty Shares to their clients. As we look back, we are delighted to see how that trust has paid off for our investors.

The Fund is managed by an experienced team of three portfolio managers who have all been with the firm for more than 16 years. The portfolio managers include, Jason Yablon, Senior Vice President and Head of U.S. Real Estate, Mathew Kirschner, Senior Vice President, and Jon Cheigh, Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Head of Real Estate. As of March 31, 2021, the trio managed $51 billion of real estate assets across the firm's funds and institutional accounts.

Jason Yablon, Head of U.S. Real Estate and Senior Portfolio Manager, said:
Over multiple market cycles, REITs have proven their efficacy as an asset class that can be actively managed to deliver excess returns for investors. Now again financial advisors and investors who are hungry for yield and looking to protect against the threat of inflation are turning to REITs to diversify their portfolios. 

The Fund's investment objective is to achieve total return through investments in real estate securities, including common stocks, preferred stocks and other equity securities issued by real estate companies, including real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Cohen & Steers Realty Shares Average Annual Total Returns Net of Fees, as of 6/30/21:

Data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results. Returns stated are net of fees. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted. The investment return and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate and shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Month-end performance information can be obtained by visiting our website at cohenandsteers.com.

Gross expense ratio, Class L: 0.97%, net expense ratio Class: 0.88% per contractual agreement through June 30, 2022. This arrangement can be terminated at any time. During certain of the periods presented above the advisor waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses. Absent such arrangements returns would have been lower.

(1) Prior to 7/1/2019, Cohen & Steers Realty Shares had only one class of shares outstanding; these shares have been redesignated as "Class L" shares. Class A, C, F, I, R and Z shares did not commence investment operations prior to 7/1/2019, and therefore limited performance information is available for these share classes. The maximum sales charge for Class A shares is 4.5% which is not reflected in Class L share performance. (2) FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index prior to 3/31/19 and FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index thereafter.  The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index and FTSE Nareit Equity REITs Index (excludes timber and infrastructure REITs) contains all tax-qualified REITs with more than 50% of total assets in qualifying real estate assets other than mortgages secured by real property that also meet minimum size and liquidity criteria. (3) The S&P 500 Index is an unmanaged index of 500 large-capitalization stocks that is frequently used as a general measure of U.S. stock market performance. An investor cannot invest directly in an index and index performance does not reflect the deduction of any fees, expenses or taxes.

Summary Prospectus

Risks of Investing in Real Estate Securities. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss. All investments are subject to risks, including loss of capital, and there is no guarantee that investment objectives will be met. The Fund is subject to special risk considerations similar to those associated with the direct ownership of real estate due to its policy of concentration in the securities of real estate companies. Real estate valuations may be subject to factors such as changing general and local economic, financial, competitive and environmental conditions. The Fund is classified as a "non-diversified" fund under the federal securities laws because it can invest in fewer individual companies than a diversified fund. However, the Fund must meet certain diversification requirements under the U.S. tax laws.

Morningstar rating is based on Class L Shares. Morningstar rated this fund 4 stars for the 3, 5 and 10 year periods among 228, 199 and 143 Real Estate funds, respectively, as of June 30, 2021.

For funds with at least a 3-year history, a Morningstar Rating (tm) is based on a risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees) with emphasis on downward variations and consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages. During certain periods presented above, the advisor waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses. Without this agreement, performance would be lower.

© 2021 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete, or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

Cohen & Steers U.S. registered open-end funds are distributed by Cohen & Steers Securities, LLC and are only available to U.S. residents.

About Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, including real estate, preferred securities, infrastructure, resource equities, commodities, as well as multi-strategy solutions. Founded in 1986, the firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Website: https://www.cohenandsteers.com
Symbols:NYSE: CNS

SOURCE Cohen & Steers, Inc.