DESK vs USRT: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF

DESKFNYSE Arca

iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF

USRTANYSE Arca

Overlap

23.5%by weight

Expense ratio

USRT −0.43pt a year

DESK0.51%USRT0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

USRT 45.2×the volume

DESK17.5KUSRT789K

3Y return · a year

USRT +1.1pt

DESK+14.9%USRT+16.0%

DESK vs USRT Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+6.1%DESK+16.3%USRT

Expense ratio: DESK 0.51%; USRT 0.08%, better
Fund size: DESK $6M; USRT $4.24B
1Y total return: DESK +6.1%; USRT +16.3%, better
Yield (12M): DESK 4.82%, better; USRT 2.65%
Holdings: DESK 26; USRT 125
Avg volume (30D): DESK 17.5K sh; USRT 789K sh, better
NAV per share: DESK $38.95; USRT $65.09
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DESK, USRT, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DESK	USRT
Cost30% weight	F14	A93Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	A100
Risk15% weight	F18	B59Higher
Tradability15% weight	D30	A82Higher
Holdings10% weight	D29	C53Higher
Durability5% weight	F14	A78Higher

Rank among US Real Estate funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DESK and USRT are both graded against the same 21 US Real Estate funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Real Estate⁠

Category · 21 funds

See all 21 ›

USRT ranks 1st and DESK 19th of 21 funds in the US Real Estate Category.

Rank 1ASCHHSchwab U.S. REIT ETFScore 83
Rank 1AUSRTiShares Core U.S. REIT ETFScore 83
Rank 3AFRELFidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETFScore 81
Rank 18DDCREDoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETFScore 39
Rank 19FDESKVanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETFScore 20
Rank 20FNETLColterpoint Net Lease Real Estate ETFScore 19

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DESKFVanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF

USRTAiShares Core U.S. REIT ETF

In short

DESK Office towers, isolated. DESK tracks an index of US office and commercial REITs, roughly two dozen landlords, so the work-from-home debate comes through undiluted instead of buried in a broad property fund.

USRT Cheap, plain-vanilla ownership of U.S. landlords: roughly 130 equity REITs for eight basis points, running since 2007. One of the least expensive doors into the real estate aisle.

Stated mandate

DESK DESK is designed to closely follow, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of an index representing U.S. office and commercial REITs.

USRT The fund seeks to track an index composed of U.S. real estate equities.

Why people hold it

DESK Broad REIT funds bury offices among warehouses, cell towers and data centers. DESK's index is built only from US-listed office and commercial REITs, so the exposure stays undiluted.vaneck.com
At 0.51%, the fee sits right at the median for real estate ETFs we grade and well under niche peers like CLIM at 0.90%.
Plain index plumbing from a house that has run thematic REIT funds for years (see MORT): published index, roughly two dozen names, quarterly distributions.

USRT 0.08% a year against a 0.37% median for U.S. real estate funds. Among the category's heavyweights, only SCHH (0.07%) is cheaper.
Tracks the FTSE Nareit Equity REITs 40 Act Capped Index with very little drift, one of the tightest index jobs in its peer group.ishares.com
Live since 2007, a multi-billion-dollar fund from iShares, holding about 130 REITs across the U.S. property market.ishares.com

Worth knowing

DESK One property type, roughly two dozen holdings. Office rent and vacancy news lands on the whole portfolio at once, with no other REIT sectors to soften it.
A small, thinly traded fund launched in 2023. Wider bid-ask spreads and less depth on the screen come with the territory.
Against the real estate ETFs we cover, it lands in the lower half, mostly on concentration and the volatility that a single-sector sleeve carries.

USRT One sector, one country. Real estate swings with rates and property cycles, so expect a bumpier ride than a broad U.S. stock fund.
Actively traded, but the aisle's largest funds (VNQ, SCHH) turn over more shares. Worth watching the spread on chunky orders.
Income arrives quarterly, not monthly.ishares.com

Full DESK profile⁠

Full USRT profile⁠

DESK vs USRT Holdings

How DESK and USRT differ

Overlap by weight

23.5%

Shared holdings make up 99.95% of DESK and 28.4% of USRT.

Level by level

Holdings25 in both23.5%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

No Sector split for DESK.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DESK and USRT, widest gap first
Country	More in DESKMore in USRT	Gap	DESK	USRT
United States		Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DESK73.1%
USRT50.5%

Securities held

DESK25
USRT122

Asset class

DESK: Multi-Asset
USRT: Real Estate

Holdings

Only in DESK0
In both25
Only in USRT97

Only in DESK

0 securities, 0.0% of DESK by weight

Only in USRT

97 securities, 71.5% of USRT by weight

Welltower9.28%
Equinix Reit6.02%
Public Storage Reit4.57%
Digital Realty Trust Reit4.13%
Vivmark Residential4.02%
Ventas Reit3.88%
Extra Space Storage Reit2.86%
Iron Mountain Inc2.70%
Vici Pptys Inc2.31%
Essex Property Trust Reit1.49%
Host Hotels & Resorts Reit1.43%
Invitation Homes1.38%
Omega Healthcare Investors Reit1.25%
Sun Communities Reit Inc1.24%
Healthpeak Properties Inc1.21%
Mid America Apartment Communities1.18%
Lamar Advertising Company Clas1.14%
Equity Lifestyle Properties Reit I1.04%
Udr Reit1.01%
American Healthcare Reit0.95%
American Homes Rent Reit Class A0.93%
Gaming and Leisure Properties Reit0.93%
Cubesmart Reit0.87%
Camden Property Trust Reit0.84%
Caretrust Reit0.77%
Ryman Hospitality Properties Reit0.75%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities Re0.66%
Macerich Reit0.61%
Stag Industrial Reit0.60%
Terreno Realty Reit0.59%
Healthcare Realty Trust Inc Class0.54%
Essential Properties Realty Trust0.52%
Sabra Health Care Reit0.45%
Phillips Edison and Company0.45%
Kite Realty Group Trust Reit0.43%
Outfront Media0.42%
Americold Realty Inc Trust0.39%
Epr Properties Reit0.38%
Tanger0.37%
Apple Hospitality Reit Inc0.35%
Millrose Properties Inc Class A0.34%
Independence Realty0.30%
National Health Investors Reit0.29%
Broadstone Net Lease0.29%
Curbline Properties0.27%
Park Hotels Resorts Inc0.25%
Diamondrock Hospitality0.24%
Lineage0.23%
Acadia Realty Trust Reit0.23%
Urban Edge Properties0.22%

Weight gaps

All 25 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in DESK and USRT, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	DESK	USRT
Cousins Properties IncCUZ	DESK +10.19 points	10.60%	0.41%
Kilroy Realty CorpKRC	DESK +9.79 points	10.14%	0.35%
Vornado Realty TrustVNO	DESK +9.78 points	10.32%	0.54%
Boston Properties IncBXP	DESK +9.22 points	10.10%	0.88%
Copt Defense PropertiesCDP	DESK +8.50 points	8.82%	0.32%
Empire State Realty Trust IncESRT	DESK +4.86 points	4.92%	0.06%
Piedmont Office Realty Trust IncPDM	DESK +4.57 points	4.68%	0.11%
Highwoods Properties IncHIW	DESK +4.38 points	4.67%	0.29%
Easterly Government Properties IncDEA	DESK +4.13 points	4.21%	0.08%
Douglas Emmett IncDEI	DESK +4.11 points	4.24%	0.13%
Sl Green Realty CorpSLG	DESK +4.04 points	4.35%	0.31%
Prologis IncPLD	USRT +3.03 points	3.74%	6.77%
Hudson Pacific Properties IncHPP	DESK +2.90 points	2.94%	0.04%
Simon Property Group IncSPG	USRT +0.40 points	4.46%	4.87%
Regency Centers CorpREG	USRT +0.32 points	0.85%	1.17%
Kimco Realty CorpKIM	USRT +0.26 points	1.19%	1.45%
Rexford Industrial Realty IncREXR	USRT +0.21 points	0.51%	0.72%
Realty Income CorpO	USRT +0.19 points	3.92%	4.11%
Agree Realty CorpADC	USRT +0.15 points	0.58%	0.73%
National Retail Properties IncNNN	USRT +0.14 points	0.53%	0.67%
Federal Realty Investment TrustFRT	USRT +0.11 points	0.72%	0.83%
Eastgroup Properties IncEGP	USRT +0.07 points	0.82%	0.89%
Wp Carey IncWPC	USRT +0.04 points	1.22%	1.26%
Brixmor Property Group IncBRX	DESK +0.02 points	0.80%	0.78%
First Industrial Realty Trust IncFR	Same weight	0.61%	0.61%

All 26 DESK holdings⁠All 122 USRT holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

DESK vs USRT Cost

Overpaying DESK vs USRT

$8,476

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

DESK 0.51%
$10,165
USRT 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DESK 0.51%
USRT 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	DESK	USRT	Overpaying
10	$918	$147	$771
20	$3,527	$575	$2,952
30	$10,165	$1,689	$8,476

Expense ratio

0.51%DESK
0.08%USRT, cheaper

USRT0.08%DESK0.51%

0.07%0.65%

Middle half of US Real Estate funds
Median 0.35%

USRT 2nd cheapest of 21 funds

DESK 18th cheapest of 21 funds

DESK vs USRT Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): DESK 4.82%, better; USRT 2.65%
Payout (12M): DESK $1.92; USRT $1.75
Last payment: DESK $0.45; USRT $0.47
Ex-dividend: DESK Oct 1, 2026; USRT Sep 15, 2026
Paid on: DESK Oct 6, 2026; USRT Sep 18, 2026
Frequency: DESK Quarterly; USRT Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

DESKQuarterly · 12 paymentsAll DESK payments⁠

USRTQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll USRT payments⁠

DESK vs USRT Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DESK 22.2%USRT 16.1%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DESK 0.52USRT 0.70, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DESK −28.7%since Sep 2023USRT −31.0%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DESK 1.11USRT 0.96; Market = 1

DESK and USRT in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
Vanguard's property fund lost a first-half lead over stocks
Updated Oct 8, 2026USRT
Deep Dive
Vanguard's property fund is up 4% this year. Mortgage funds are down 15%
Oct 5, 2026USRT
ETF Filings
PGIM files for a CLO fund at 0.28% and a real estate fund at 0.49%
Sep 28, 2026USRT
Deep Dive
Equity REIT funds fell 1.3%. VanEck's mortgage REIT fund hit a 52-week low
Sep 12, 2026USRT
Deep Dive
September's $2.74 billion CMBS wall is half of August's, with more already in special servicing
Sep 5, 2026USRT

Popular comparisons

DESKFvsSCHHA
VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF · Schwab U.S. REIT ETF
Expense ratio
0.51% · 0.07%
Category
USRTAvsVNQA
iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF · Vanguard Real Estate ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.13%
Category
DESKFvsFRELA
VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF · Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF
Expense ratio
0.51% · 0.08%
Category
USRTAvsSCHHA
iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF · Schwab U.S. REIT ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.07%
Category
DESKFvsXLREA
VanEck Office and Commercial REIT ETF · State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF
Expense ratio
0.51% · 0.08%
Category
USRTAvsFRELA
iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF · Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.08%
Category

DESK vs USRT

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it