One of the most important things a person can do if they are trying to figure out who did what and when, is to follow the money. This can be fairly complex when trying to follow the money when the targets are the world's largest banks. But one detail that has been nagging at me is the fact that Iron Mountain, Inc., is entreating the IRS to convert to an REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust). My question was, why would a business that stores financial documents, tapes and healthcare files be interested in converting to a real estate trust? First, let's take a look at what an REIT is.
An REIT is a type of real estate company that is modeled after mutual funds. They were created by Congress in 1960 to give all Americans the chance to invest in income producing real estate, much the same way as we can invest in stocks and bonds through mutual funds. Income producing real estate refers to land and the improvements on it. REIT's can invest in the properties themselves, generating income through the collection of rent, or they can invest in mortgages or mortgage securities tied to the properties, helping to finance the properties and generate interest income. It is the mortgage security avenue that Iron Mountain is interested in.
But again, why would an organization like Iron Mountain be interested in converting to this when they have built their empire by storing sensitive documents? Any time I need to follow the money to some nefarious sounding deal, I begin looking in one place first.
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