VNQ’s increase is all the more striking when you consider that the rest of the field below US equities has suffered mediocre-to-negative results over the past year.

The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs last month. This was the 48th consecutive month of payroll gains, the longest streak of positive payrolls in history.

US REITs (VNQ) are in the lead with a 13.5% total return, based on the trailing 250 trading-day period (the rough equivalent of a one-year return).

The Q Ratio is a popular method of estimating the fair value of the stock market developed by Nobel Laureate James Tobin. It's a fairly simple concept, but laborious to calculate.

Stock prices have a high correlation to economic activity and earnings. History tells us bear markets are often kicked-off by recessions. Recent economic data does not hint at an imminent recession.

Volatility is starting to creep back into the markets. It’s not obvious from the 30,000-foot view, but a few corners of the global markets are becoming jittery.