DFGR vs DTRE

DFGRADimensional Global Real Estate ETF

DTREFFirst Trust Alerian Disruptive Technology Real Estate ETF

In short

DFGR One ticker for the world's landlords: US, developed and emerging-market REITs in a single market-cap-weighted portfolio, traded by Dimensional's desk rather than on an index calendar. Roughly 500 names.

DTRE Most global real estate funds own offices, malls and apartments. DTRE runs a concentrated book of roughly 30 names built around one idea: property tied to technology-driven demand.

Stated mandate

DFGR The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing broadly in U.S. and non-U.S. companies principally engaged in real estate, including REITs and REIT-like entities.

DTRE The fund seeks to track the pre-fee performance of the Alerian Disruptive Technology Real Estate Index and normally invests at least 90% of net assets in the index's common stocks, REITs, and depositary receipts.

Why people hold it

• DFGR Fee is 0.21% net of a waiver through February 28, 2027 (0.22% gross), below the category median, though index peers REET (0.14%) and HAUZ (0.10%) charge less.
• Holds US and non-US real estate, developed and emerging markets, in one wrapper. HAUZ and VNQI are ex-US only, so pairing them with a US REIT fund is the usual workaround.sec.gov
• No index to shadow: the prospectus lets Dimensional weight by market cap while flexing trade timing and capping country or issuer exposure.sec.gov
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, and it pays distributions quarterly.

• DTRE One idea, not a sampler: roughly 30 global holdings selected by the Alerian Disruptive Technology Real Estate Index rather than a broad property basket.
• Rules-based by design. At least 90% of net assets normally sit in the index's common stocks, REITs and depositary receipts.ftportfolios.com
• Global mandate with a quarterly distribution schedule, and the depositary-receipt sleeve lets it hold listings outside the US.

Worth knowing

• DFGR Single-sector by design, so it moves with property markets and the rates that price them, with roughly 500 names spread across that one sector.
• Foreign REITs mean currency moves land in your return; the fund may use currency forwards for settlement, not to hedge its exposure.sec.gov
• Without a published index to track, there is no simple tracking-difference yardstick, and the waiver expires February 28, 2027, leaving the 0.22% gross fee.sec.gov

• DTRE The 0.60% expense ratio sits above the typical global real estate fund and well above plain index peers such as REET (0.14%) and VNQI (0.12%).
• A small fund that trades thinly, so spreads and the cost of moving size can run higher than with the category's heavyweights.
• Concentration cuts both ways: with roughly 30 names on one theme, a single holding or storyline moves this fund more than a broad REIT index.

Full DFGR profile⁠

Full DTRE profile⁠