Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ICF vs IYR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ICF returned +9.0% to IYR's +3.4%; 75% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about ICF and IYR
Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Select U.S. REIT ETF, and $3.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF.
Pair scorecard
ICF costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; IYR is 2.0 times larger.
| Measure | ICF | IYR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.0% | +3.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.7%, high on Jul 29, 2026 | 8.6%, high on Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index | Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.37% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $2.0bn | $4.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 75% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 59.0% | 52.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 9, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,341 weekly returnsICF returned more: +750.6% to +618.8%. IYR swung slightly less: 23.3% to 24.5%. IYR fell slightly less at its worst: −73.5% to −76.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ICF | IYR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +750.6% | +618.8% | ICF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.7% | +7.9% | ICF (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +235.8% | +163.5% | ICF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 24.5% | 23.3% | IYR (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 16.8% | 16.2% | IYR (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −76.2% | −73.5% | IYR (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.39 | 0.37 | ICF (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.57 | 0.53 | ICF (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.11 | 0.11 | ICF (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,341 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ICF and IYR hold 75% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
75% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ICF and IYR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ICF and IYR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. ICF follows Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index and IYR follows Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Capped Index.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ICF returned +9.0% and IYR +3.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.6 points.
- Holdings in common (similar). 75% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
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.
ICF
ICF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +9.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 31 positions, with the top ten at 59.0%. It sat 6.7% below its high of Jul 29, 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, ICF or IYR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ICF returned +9.0% and IYR +3.4%.
- Which is cheaper, ICF or IYR?
- ICF is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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, ICF against IYR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/icf-vs-iyr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ICF against IYR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/icf-vs-iyr
[ICF against IYR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/icf-vs-iyr)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.