Robert Peterson, head of equity research at US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, says REITshave had a positive two-year run in the market and he continues to see pockets of strength in the group.

"Like other cyclical sectors, the operating fundamentals of REITs will be closely tied to the US economy," Rosivach says. "With that said, in a market environment with lower long-term equity return expectations and historically low interest rates, REITs continue to offer attractive risk-adjusted return characteristics, in our opinion. As such, we believe the two-year REIT rally will continue."

Rosivach joins the Minneapolis-based firm from UBS Warburg in New York, where he was a research analyst covering REITs. He will be located in US Bancorp Piper Jaffray's New York office. Rosivach holds a bachelor's of arts degree in economics and history, magna cum laude, from Yale University in New Haven, CT. He holds a CharteredFinancial Analyst designation.