Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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URTH vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, URTH returned +13.1% to VNQ's +4.8%; 1% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $8.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI World ETF, and $35.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Real Estate ETF.

At a glance
+13.1%
URTH total return, 1 year
+4.8%
VNQ total return, 1 year
0.24%
URTH expense ratio
0.13%
VNQ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VNQ costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.3 points; VNQ is 4.4 times larger.

URTH vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureURTHVNQ
Return
Total return, 1 year+13.1%+4.8%
Drawdown
Below its high8.3%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksMSCI World IndexMSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.24%0.13%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$8.2bn$35.9bn
Holdings
Holdings in common1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund27.2%55.8%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jan 20, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 770 weekly returns
URTH VNQ
Return
Total return edge URTH +421.6% +176.6%
Annualized edge URTH +11.8% +7.1%
Price return edge URTH +296.2% +54.8%
Risk
Volatility edge URTH 15.6% 19.9%
Max drawdown edge URTH −32.7% −39.6%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge URTH 0.68 0.36
Sortino edge URTH 0.97 0.51
Calmar edge URTH 0.36 0.18
Reading

URTH returned more: +421.6% to +176.6%. URTH swung less: 15.6% to 19.9%. URTH fell less at its worst: −32.7% to −39.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: URTH vs VNQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureURTHVNQEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+421.6%+176.6%URTHPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+11.8%+7.1%URTHTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+296.2%+54.8%URTHPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility15.6%19.9%URTHSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation10.9%13.9%URTHLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−32.7%−39.6%URTHDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.680.36URTHReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.970.51URTHReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.360.18URTHAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 770 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

1%

By the books each fund has filed, URTH and VNQ hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first URTH VNQ
WELLTOWER 0.18% 9.12%
PROLOGIS REIT 0.13% 6.86%
EQUINIX REIT 0.11% 5.65%
AMERICAN TOWER REIT 0.09% 4.32%
SIMON PROPERTY GROUP REIT INC 0.08% 3.69%
DIGITAL REALTY TRUST REIT 0.07% 3.68%
COMPASS GROUP PLC 0.06% 0.35%
PUBLIC STORAGE REIT 0.06% 2.69%
REALTY INCOME REIT 0.06% 2.85%
VIVMARK RESIDENTIAL 0.05% 2.46%
CBRE GROUP CLASS A 0.04% 2.13%
CROWN CASTLE INC 0.04% 1.65%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in URTH
APPLE 5.60%
NVIDIA 5.50%
MICROSOFT 4.12%
AMAZON.COM INC 2.69%
ALPHABET CLASS A 2.07%
BROADCOM INC 1.70%
ALPHABET CLASS C 1.62%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 1.49%
Only in VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund 14.51%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc 0.87%
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc 0.80%
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc 0.78%
Healthpeak Properties Inc 0.78%
Lamar Advertising Co 0.70%
CoStar Group Inc 0.63%
Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc 0.61%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

URTH iShares MSCI World ETF VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks the MSCI World Tracks an index of US real estate
Total return, 1 year +13.1% +4.8%
Its benchmark over the same days +13.4% (ACWI) not measured
Gap to its benchmark −0.3 pts vs ACWI not measured
Expense ratio 0.24% 0.13%
Already in the S&P 500 69.1% 62.8%
Holdings 1254 141
Net assets, URTH as of Oct 28, 2026 and VNQ as of Sep 30, 2026 $8.9bn $35.9bn

URTH and VNQ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F293EAB87C

URTH and VNQ do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. URTH follows MSCI World Index and VNQ follows MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 URTH returned +13.1% and VNQ +4.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
URTH

URTH tracks the MSCI World. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.24% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 69% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,254 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

VNQ

VNQ tracks an index of US real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 141 positions, with the top ten at 55.8%. It sat 8.3% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, URTH or VNQ?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, URTH returned +13.1% and VNQ +4.8%.
Which is cheaper, URTH or VNQ?
VNQ is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do URTH and VNQ overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 69% of URTH and 63% of VNQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, URTH against VNQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/urth-vs-vnq

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