BRAD THOMAS is the CEO and Senior Analyst at Wide Moat Research, a boutique financial newsletter company that covers a wide range of investment strategies focused on dividend growth stocks. In addition, Thomas is the guru behind several newsletter products including Forbes Real Estate Investor, The Intelligent REIT Investor, and the Intelligent REIT Options Advisor. He is a frequent contributor on Fox & Friends, Fox Business, and TD Ameritrade in addition to contributing regularly to Seeking Alpha, Forbes.com, and The Property Chronicle. In addition to his real estate interests, Thomas is an accomplished and sought-after speaker throughout the U.S. and on the international stage. He graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, and guest lectures frequently at many leading universities.

RALPH BLOCK was a leading authority on REITs and an active participant in the industry for seven decades who died on September 6, 2016. Author of the book Investing in REITs, he also founded The Essential REIT, a newsletter dedicated to REITs and REIT investing. In addition, Block was a regular contributor to REIT magazine and wrote weekly blog posts for SNL Financial. Block began investing in REIT stocks in the 1970s, and he held a variety of professional investment and advisory positions in the industry from 1993 onwards. Block practiced corporate and securities law in Los Angeles for 27 years before focusing on REITs. He graduated from UCLA and the UCLA School of Law, where he was on the board of editors of the UCLA Law Review.