Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DFGR vs FREL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DFGR returned +4.9% to FREL's +4.6%; 74% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about DFGR and FRELNet assets: $3.9bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF, and $1.3bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF.
Pair scorecard
FREL costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points.
| Measure | DFGR | FREL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.9% | +4.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.1%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | 8.4%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.22% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, DFGR as of Jul 31, 2026 and FREL as of Sep 30, 2026 | $3.9bn | $1.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 74% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 40.6% | 47.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 16, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 201 weekly returnsFREL returned slightly more: +29.5% to +27.9%. DFGR swung slightly less: 15.3% to 16.8%. DFGR and FREL fell about the same at their worst: −19.8% and −20.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFGR | FREL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +27.9% | +29.5% | FREL (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +6.9% | FREL (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +12.6% | +12.9% | FREL (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.3% | 16.8% | DFGR (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.3% | 11.4% | DFGR (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −19.8% | −20.1% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.19 | 0.21 | FREL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.28 | 0.31 | FREL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.33 | 0.35 | FREL (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 201 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DFGR and FREL hold 74% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.
half
74% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFGR and FREL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFGR and FREL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. DFGR follows No index, actively managed and FREL follows MSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 Index.
- Number of holdings. DFGR holds 425 positions and FREL holds 122.
- Cost. DFGR charges 0.22% of assets a year and FREL 0.08%, a gap of 0.14 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
DFGR
DFGR is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.22% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 56% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 425 positions, with the top ten at 40.6%. It sat 8.1% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
FREL
FREL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 73% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 122 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%. It sat 8.4% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFGR or FREL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFGR returned +4.9% and FREL +4.6%.
- Which is cheaper, DFGR or FREL?
- FREL is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, DFGR against FREL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-frel
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DFGR against FREL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-frel
[DFGR against FREL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-frel)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.