Essentially leveraged bond funds with 100% government-backed mortgage-backed securities (MBS), the Agency MREITs have lately been subjected to a series of negative but largely irrelevant news headlines.

FORBES: Agency REITs Keeping Portfolios Safe During Volatility

In QE1, the Fed purchased non-traditional assets for its portfolio, including mortgage backed securities (MBS) and derivatives.

FORBES: Peeking Into Ben Bernanke's Bag Of Unconventional Monetary Weapons