The Duel of the Global Real Estate Titans: VNQI vs. REET

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Two titans of the financial realm, the Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF (VNQI +0.11%) and the iShares Global REIT ETF (REET +0.00%), stand as sentinels of global real estate equities, their paths entwined in the eternal dance of capital. They offer to the investor a window into the vast, shifting landscape of real estate investment trusts, yet their philosophies diverge, as do their fates. Let us peer into their souls, their costs, their risks, and the tapestry of their holdings, to discern which might better serve the seeker of fortune.

A Glimpse into the Scales of Cost and Size

Metric VNQI REET
Issuer Vanguard IShares
Expense ratio 0.12% 0.14%
1-yr return (as of Jan. 8, 2026) 19.58% 6.65%
Dividend yield 4.58% 3.62%
Beta 0.71 0.97
AUM $3.53 billion $4.33 billion

Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns.

Behold the modesty of their fees, these two titans, yet even in their humility, a chasm divides them. VNQI, with its frugal 0.12%, whispers of thrift, while REET, though slightly pricier, bears the weight of its own ambition. The dividend yields, too, reveal their natures: VNQI, a giver of plenteous harvests, and REET, a more measured steward. Which path, one might ponder, aligns with the investor’s own soul-haste or patience, abundance or restraint?

The Trial of Time: Performance and Risk

Metric VNQI REET
Max drawdown (5 y) -35.76% -32.09%
Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $857 $1,053

The Tapestry of Holdings

Since its inception in 2014, REET has grown into the colossus of global real estate, its portfolio a mosaic of 377 assets. Its largest holdings-Welltower, Prologis, and Equinix-loom like giants, their combined weight a quarter of its totality. A fund of such scale, one might surmise, is both a fortress and a gamble, its fate bound to the whims of the market’s capricious moods.

VNQI, by contrast, shuns the familiar shores of U.S. real estate, casting its lot with the developed world’s far-flung corners. Its holdings, a constellation of Goodman Group, Mitsui Fudosan, and Mitsubishi Estate, stretch across Asia-Pacific and Europe. With 742 holdings, each a mere shadow in the grand design, it embodies the virtue of balance, a fund that fears no single star’s fall.

The Investor’s Dilemma

Here lies the crux: VNQI, with its higher yield and greater number of holdings, offers a feast for the income-seeker, yet its five-year journey has been one of sorrow, a descent of 12.7%. REET, though less generous in its dividends, has ascended, its value rising by 8.3%. The dividend payout, too, tells a tale-REET’s quarterly gifts, a steady stream, while VNQI’s annual offering is a flood, sudden and unyielding.

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For the investor, the choice is as old as the markets themselves: to embrace the unknown, the distant, the untested, or to anchor oneself in the familiar, the measured, the proven. VNQI, with its global gaze, may allure the bold, yet its path is strewn with thorns. REET, with its U.S. roots, offers a steadier footing, though its rewards are tempered by the weight of its size.

Thus, the eternal question: Is it the promise of short-term gains that calls to the restless, or the quiet certainty of long-term growth that beckons the patient? The answer, as ever, lies not in the numbers alone, but in the heart of the investor.

The Lexicon of the Market

ETF: A vessel of many assets, a ship that sails the stock market’s tides, its value ebbing and flowing with the currents of fortune.
Expense ratio: The price of the voyage, a fee paid to the captain for navigating the perilous waters of investment.
Dividend yield: The fruit borne by the tree of capital, a measure of the harvest reaped by the investor.
REIT: A steward of land and stone, a guardian of properties that generate wealth through the alchemy of rent.
Beta: A measure of the soul’s volatility, how the investment trembles in the face of the market’s tempest.
AUM: The weight of the world upon the fund’s shoulders, the sum of all it holds in its vast, unyielding embrace.
Max drawdown: The darkest hour of the investor’s journey, the moment when hope seems to flee and the horizon grows dim.
Total return: The sum of all the stars in the investor’s sky, a reckoning of price and profit combined.
Developed markets: The lands of stability and order, where the rules are known, and the dangers, though present, are predictable.
Holdings: The treasures and trials of the fund, the assets that shape its destiny and the investor’s.

For those who seek further wisdom in the labyrinth of ETFs, let this guide be a lantern in the shadows. 📈

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2026-01-11 21:05