The best-performing OEIC in capital growth terms, First State Global Property Securities, has returned 21.26 per cent over five years, and yields just 2.43 per cent.
The highest-yielding fund in IMA Property, Aviva Property Investment, pays 5.3 per cent but has lost nearly 30 per cent over the same period.
Performance of trust vs funds and sector over 5-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
F&C Commercial Property Trust has returned 34 per cent over this time and yields 5.38 per cent.
When compared with funds that share its UK-specific focus, the four crown-rated investment trust looks even more attractive.
Not a single fund with more than 60 per cent of its assets in the UK delivered a positive return over five years, according to data from FE Analytics.
The best-performing fund over this period, Royal London Property, lost 1.71 per cent.
Performance of trust vs fund and sector over 5-yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Collette Ord, senior analyst at Numis Securities, thinks the trust is a strong contender for investors who want simple exposure to high-quality property investments.
"The trust is on a premium, but it’s a premium worth paying if you want exposure to property with relatively low volatility and you’re happy to take the income return it provides."
The trust invests in a portfolio of UK properties, with a bias toward "prime" assets – high-profile properties in prestige locations of the type which, regardless of the local economic situation, are in high demand among foreign buyers who perceive ownership as a symbol of prestige.
Ord (pictured) says it provides returns that have the characteristics people actually want from a property investment, driven by exposure to the best-performing parts of the Investment Property Databank (IPD), a unique British property index.
She added: "It is not a benchmark fund that replicates the sector split of the IPD, but the areas that are performing well in the IPD are the same areas that this trust is overweight in, and the areas which aren’t performing well are the same areas this trust doesn’t have much exposure to."
"The trust has a good manager: he’s made the calls to be overweight in the right areas, there’s good stockpicking in the deals that he’s made, and the quality of the portfolio that he’s created has supported its performance."
The trust has paid a solid dividend that it has never reduced and, unlike most of its competitors, pays this on a monthly basis – putting it in an attractive position for those who crave a reliable income.
This dividend has not always been covered, however – meaning the trust has from time to time paid out without having enough reserves to be sure that it could distribute the same amount again.
"In a yield-hungry environment this trust stands out as it has never missed a dividend. It has never cut its dividend, but by the same rule it has never fully covered it either – and I think I’d be happier to know my distribution was covered."
The trust has low gearing, equivalent to around 18 per cent of the total portfolio value, according to data from Numis Securities, and as a result tends not to be as volatile as its peers – a number of which are geared up to around 50 per cent of NAV.
The trust’s FE Risk Score, which reflects how risky it is in comparison with the FTSE 100, comes in at 83, meaning it represents less of a gamble than a tracker following the blue chip index.
This is considerably higher than the average fund in the IMA Property sector, however, reflecting the volatile nature of investment trust share prices.
With no initial upfront fee and an annual charge of 0.5 per cent, the trust has a TER of 1 per cent, making it cheaper than all but two of the UK-focused open-ended funds in the IMA sector. It does, however, carry a performance fee which kicks in once the trust passes certain performance benchmarks. The fee is equivalent to 20 per cent of any outperformance in excess of 110 per cent of the trust's benchmark index. It is watermarked, meaning a single period of outperformance will not be rewarded with a performance fee if it follows a period of underperformance - the trust must regain lost ground before the fee kicks in.