Editor's Note: Below is a brief excerpt and chart from today's Early Look written by Hedgeye U.S. Macro analyst Christian Drake. Click here to join Hedgeye CEO Keith McCullough and Senior Macro analyst Darius Dale on today's The Macro Show. It's FREE!

"... Within the housing related equity complex, REITs provide the best relative returns during recession and rate risk environments.  As can be seen in the Chart of the Day below, REIT’s are essentially the Utilities of the Housing industry. While the r-square isn’t exceedingly high, the relative return distribution plots as you would expect and want in a growth slowing environment."  

CHART OF THE DAY | How To Play Defense In A Recession and Rising Rate Environment - CoD 2