Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DFGR vs IYR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DFGR returned +4.9% to IYR's +3.4%; 16% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $3.9bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF, and $3.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF.
Pair scorecard
DFGR costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points.
| Measure | DFGR | IYR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.9% | +3.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.1%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | 8.6%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.22% | 0.37% |
| Net assets, DFGR as of Jul 31, 2026 and IYR as of Oct 28, 2026 | $3.9bn | $3.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 16% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 40.6% | 52.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 16, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 201 weekly returnsDFGR and IYR returned about the same: +27.9% and +28.1%. DFGR swung slightly less: 15.3% to 16.7%. IYR fell slightly less at its worst: −19.4% to −19.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DFGR | IYR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +27.9% | +28.1% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +6.6% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +12.6% | +16.4% | IYR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.3% | 16.7% | 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% | −19.4% | IYR (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.19 | 0.19 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.28 | 0.28 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.33 | 0.34 | IYR (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 IYR hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
16% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DFGR and IYR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFGR and IYR 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 IYR follows Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index.
- Holdings in common. 16% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. DFGR holds 425 positions and IYR holds 59.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
IYR
IYR tracks an index of U.S. Real Estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 80% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 52.5%. It sat 8.6% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFGR or IYR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFGR returned +4.9% and IYR +3.4%.
- Which is cheaper, DFGR or IYR?
- DFGR is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 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 IYR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-iyr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DFGR against IYR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-iyr
[DFGR against IYR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfgr-vs-iyr)
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