DTRE vs VNQI

DTREFFirst Trust Alerian Disruptive Technology Real Estate ETF

VNQIAVanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF

In short

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.

VNQI Everything outside the US property market in one ticker: roughly 700 REITs, landlords and developers across 30-plus countries, developed and emerging, for 0.12% a year.

Stated mandate

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.

VNQI The Fund seeks to track the S&P Global ex-U.S. Property Index, an index of international real estate stocks in developed and emerging markets. It generally uses full replication and invests at least 80% of assets in index securities.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• VNQI At 0.12% a year, it costs about a quarter of the typical global real estate fund and lands within two basis points of the cheapest in its peer group (HAUZ, 0.10%).
• Full replication across roughly 700 names in more than 30 countries, so no single Tokyo landlord or Sydney mall owner carries the portfolio.vanguard.com
• The benchmark reaches past pure REITs into companies that own, manage and develop property, which is how it covers markets where the REIT structure barely exists.spindices.com
• Trading since 2010 and one of the tighter index trackers in its cohort, which is the whole job for a fund like this.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• VNQI Currency exposure is unhedged, so moves in the dollar against the yen, euro and other local currencies feed straight into results.vanguard.com
• Emerging markets and China-linked property companies are in the mix, a risk set the prospectus calls out separately from developed-market investing.vanguard.com
• Distributions land annually or semiannually rather than monthly, so the income arrives in lumps.

Full DTRE profile⁠

Full VNQI profile⁠