Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FREL vs IYR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FREL returned +4.6% to IYR's +3.4%; 24% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF, and $3.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF.
Pair scorecard
FREL costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; IYR is 3.2 times larger.
| Measure | FREL | IYR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +4.6% | +3.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.4%, high on Jul 28, 2026 | 8.6%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 Index | Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.37% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.3bn | $4.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 24% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 47.5% | 52.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 13, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 610 weekly returnsFREL returned slightly more: +80.6% to +75.7%. FREL and IYR swung about the same: 21.0% and 20.9%. FREL and IYR fell about the same at their worst: −39.3% and −39.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FREL | IYR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +80.6% | +75.7% | FREL (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +5.2% | +4.9% | FREL (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +16.7% | +22.5% | IYR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.0% | 20.9% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.6% | 14.6% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −39.3% | −39.3% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.24 | 0.23 | FREL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.35 | 0.33 | FREL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.13 | 0.13 | FREL (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 610 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FREL and IYR hold 24% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
24% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FREL and IYR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FREL and IYR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FREL follows MSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 Index and IYR follows Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index.
- Holdings in common. 24% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- Cost. FREL charges 0.08% of assets a year and IYR 0.37%, a gap of 0.29 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
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, FREL or IYR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FREL returned +4.6% and IYR +3.4%.
- Which is cheaper, FREL or IYR?
- FREL is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 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, FREL against IYR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/frel-vs-iyr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FREL against IYR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/frel-vs-iyr
[FREL against IYR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/frel-vs-iyr)
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