Investments based on real estate price indexes will be traded in the United States beginning in the first quarter of next year, opening up the multitrillion-dollar real estate markets to institutional investors and large corporations like never before. The new derivatives will not only give investors the ability to invest in real estate without having …

The deteriorating condition of property markets worldwide has caused many investors to cut a wide swath around real estate mutual funds in the past year. News of the Reichmanns’ financial troubles coupled with the suspension of redemptions at troubled Central Guaranty Trust Co.’s real-estate estate fund confirmed people’s fears about the decline in property values …