You just received your most recent dividend, so it’s a great time for a refresher on the earning potential of your Fundrise portfolio. It’s important to keep in mind that dividends are just one way that your investment can earn returns, as many of the projects in your portfolio also have the potential to appreciate in value over time.

Dividends

Dividends represent your portion of any income earned on the projects in your portfolio. You receive dividends as quarterly cash payments that are either distributed to your bank account or reinvested, depending on your preference. This passive income is an attractive component of real estate investing, but it is not the only way that you can earn returns on your investment.

Appreciation

In addition to generating income, all real estate has the potential to appreciate, or increase in value over time. By investing equity in a project, you get to participate in this appreciation.

As an investor, you can track potential appreciation of your portfolio through changes in the net asset value (NAV) of your shares, which can be found in your investor dashboard.

To learn more about appreciation, read our full blog post.

How ramp-up affects your returns

As you add to your Fundrise account, your portfolio may be allocated across some of our newly launched eREITs. When a new eREIT is launched, it first enters the ramp-up phase of its life cycle. During this initial stage, which typically lasts 12-18 months, it’s focused primarily on raising capital and acquiring projects. As real estate is an inherently long-term investment, it takes time for these projects to begin to generate a return.

As a result, your overall account performance during this early period might be somewhat lower than you were expecting. It’s important to remember that this is a normal part of making a long-term investment. As the eREITs in your portfolio begin to mature, we expect investors may begin earning dividends or see a growth in the value of their investment. However, there can be no guarantee of future performance.

As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to investments@fundrise.com with any questions or feedback.