However, there are some exceptions that I plan to hold forever, or at the very least, for a very long time to come. These are REITs (VNQ) that have exceptional business models that generate above-average returns with below-average risk, and unless something dramatic changes, I expect their historic outperformance to continue for a long time to come. US self-storage REITs have been exceptionally rewarding investments for investors who bought them a few decades ago. They earned nearly 20% average annual total returns for the past 30 years - the highest of any property sector.