SPDR REIT ETF vs. Vanguard Global Real Estate ETF: Which Suits Your Portfolio Best?
Key Points
State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF focuses on domestic real estate investment trusts, while Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF targets properties in international markets.
The Vanguard fund offers a lower expense ratio of 0.12% and a higher trailing-12-month distribution yield.
The SPDR ETF maintains a more concentrated portfolio of 99 holdings and has delivered higher total returns over the past five years.
- 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Series Trust - State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF ›
Deciding between Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF (NASDAQ:VNQI) and State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSEMKT:RWR) depends on whether an investor seeks broad international diversification or concentrated U.S. exposure.
Both funds provide liquid access to real estate, yet they operate in entirely different geographic spheres. While VNQI casts a wide net across more than 30 countries to capture global growth, RWR remains strictly focused on the domestic market through the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Capped Index.
Snapshot (cost & size)
| Metric | VNQI | RWR |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Vanguard | SPDR |
| Expense ratio | 0.12% | 0.25% |
| 1-yr return (as of June 17, 2026) | 1.6% | 14.6% |
| Dividend yield | 4.7% | 3.3% |
| Beta | 0.92 | 1.01 |
| AUM | ~$3.8 billion | ~$1.9 billion |
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.
The Vanguard fund is the more affordable choice, charging an expense ratio of 0.12% compared to 0.25% for the SPDR ETF. For income-seeking investors, the Vanguard fund also provided a higher dividend payout over the trailing 12 months.
Performance & risk comparison
| Metric | VNQI | RWR |
|---|---|---|
| Max drawdown (5 yr) | (35.60%) | (32.60%) |
| Growth of $1,000 over 5 years (total return) | $927 | $1,251 |
What's inside
The SPDR ETF holds 99 positions primarily focused on U.S. real estate investment trusts (REITs). Its largest positions include Prologis (NYSE:PLD) at 10.09%, Welltower (NYSE:WELL) at 9.46%, and Simon Property Group (NYSE:SPG) at 4.7%. The fund was launched in 2001 and paid $3.73 per share in dividends over the trailing 12 months.
By contrast, Vanguard’s fund offers much broader diversification, with 708 holdings across international markets. Its largest positions include Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) at 4.24%, Mitsubishi Estate at 2.81%, and Mitsui Fudosan at 2.43%. VNQI was launched in 2010 and has a trailing-12-month dividend payout of $2.16 per share.
For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.
What this means for investors
These real estate-focused ETFs are most obviously differentiated by the geographies they invest in and their number of holdings. Vanguard's fund holds seven times as many stocks as RWR and excludes U.S. companies. RWR is about half the size of VNQI in terms of assets under management, but they share roughly equal average trading volume.
One thing that stands out is just two stocks -- Prologis and Welltower -- account for nearly 20% of the SPDR ETF's holdings. In contrast, VNQI's top 10 positions make up 21.7% of the portfolio. So there's a real contrast in terms of diversification and concentration risk. That said, RWR has performed better recently, though it also has a higher expense ratio and lower dividend yield. But as investors know, a stock's price and its dividend yield have an inverse relationship, all things equal. So when the price goes up, the yield falls.
In my opinion, the whole point of buying an ETF is that you're getting a basket of stocks to help lower your overall risk. I wouldn't necessarily buy VNQI, but RWR's two largest positions making up around one-fifth of the portfolio isn't my cup of tea.
Should you buy stock in SPDR Series Trust - State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF right now?
Before you buy stock in SPDR Series Trust - State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SPDR Series Trust - State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $424,531!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,273,016!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 940% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 209% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of June 18, 2026.
Erin Kennedy has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Goodman Group, Prologis, and Simon Property Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
