# VNQ ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What VNQ holds, its 0.13% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns shares of about 140 US companies that own or run real estate, such as offices, apartments, warehouses, and cell towers. It charges 0.13% a year. From September 2004 to October 2026 it returned about 7.3% a year, and its worst drop was −73.1%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.13% a year (about $13 on $10,000).
- Started trading on September 23, 2004.
- Worst drop since 2004: −73.1%.
- 21 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does VNQ hold?

This fund owns shares of about 140 US companies that own or run real estate, such as offices, apartments, warehouses, and cell towers. Most of these companies are REITs, which must pay out most of their taxable income to their owners. Because it holds only real estate companies, it is less spread out than a fund that owns the whole stock market.

It tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index. It had 139 holdings as of September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard.

| Fact | VNQ |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Vanguard Real Estate ETF |
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.13% a year |
| Started trading | September 23, 2004 |
| Tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index |
| Type | Real estate, ETF |
| Holdings | 139 holdings as of September 30, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Vanguard fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vnq) |

## What is the VNQ expense ratio?

VNQ charges 0.13% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.13% fee comes to about $13 a year.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## How has VNQ done since 2004?

From September 2004 to October 2026, VNQ returned about 7.3% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $47,475 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | VNQ |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 374.8% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 7.3% |
| Worst drop from a high | −73.1% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 28.2% |
| Last 12 months | 5.1% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 10.6% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 0.9% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 5.1% |

Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## VNQ returns by year

| Year | VNQ return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | 6.6% |
| 2025 | 3.3% |
| 2024 | 4.8% |
| 2023 | 11.8% |
| 2022 | −26.3% |
| 2021 | 40.5% |
| 2020 | −4.6% |
| 2019 | 28.9% |
| 2018 | −6.0% |
| 2017 | 4.9% |
| 2016 | 8.6% |
| 2015 | 2.4% |
| 2014 | 30.4% |
| 2013 | 2.3% |
| 2012 | 17.6% |
| 2011 | 8.6% |
| 2010 | 28.4% |
| 2009 | 30.1% |
| 2008 | −37.0% |
| 2007 | −16.5% |
| 2006 | 35.3% |
| 2005 | 11.9% |
| 2004 (part of the year) | 16.0% |

## What was VNQ's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. VNQ's worst fall was −73.1%, from February 7, 2007 to March 6, 2009. It got back to that high on September 7, 2012.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold VNQ?

21 classic strategies hold VNQ at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/hybrid-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- [Bold Asset Allocation (BAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- [Protective Asset Allocation (PAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/protective-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- [Adaptive Asset Allocation (AAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/adaptive-asset-allocation.md), by Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick, Rodrigo Gordillo, and David Varadi, 2012
- [Composite Dual Momentum](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/composite-dual-momentum.md), by Gary Antonacci, 2012
- [Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA 5)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/global-tactical-asset-allocation.md), by Mebane Faber, 2007
- [Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/vigilant-asset-allocation-g12.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- [GTAA 13: Faber’s 13-asset tactical allocation](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-13.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [GTAA Aggressive 3 (Faber GTAA AGG3)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-aggressive-3.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [GTAA Aggressive 6 (Faber GTAA AGG6)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/gtaa-aggressive-6.md), by Mebane Faber, 2013
- [Ivy Portfolio rotation (Faber’s relative strength model)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/ivy-portfolio-rotation.md), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009
- [Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trinity-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- [12-Month High Switch (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/12-month-high-switch.md), by Mebane Faber, 2020
- [Mama Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/mama-bear-portfolio.md), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- [Papa Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/papa-bear-portfolio.md), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- [US Risk Parity Trend-Following (The Trend is Our Friend)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/us-risk-parity-trend-following.md), by Andrew Clare, James Seaton, Peter N. Smith, and Stephen Thomas, 2016
- [Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-balanced.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-aggressive.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/kipnis-defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- [Ivy Portfolio (Faber and Richardson, buy and hold)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/ivy-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009

## How does VNQ compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for VNQ:

- [SCHH](https://tactfolio.com/etf/schh.md): Schwab U.S. REIT ETF, 0.07% a year
- [XLRE](https://tactfolio.com/etf/xlre.md): State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
- [IYR](https://tactfolio.com/etf/iyr.md): iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF, 0.37% a year
- [RWO](https://tactfolio.com/etf/rwo.md): State Street SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF, 0.5% a year

See [all 7 VNQ alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/vnq.md), compared on the same dates as VNQ.

## Test VNQ in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add VNQ, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for VNQ. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns.

Fund facts come from Vanguard. We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of VNQ?

VNQ charges 0.13% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 16, 2026. That is about $13 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did VNQ start trading?

VNQ started trading on September 23, 2004. It is run by Vanguard.

### What does VNQ track?

VNQ tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index. This fund owns shares of about 140 US companies that own or run real estate, such as offices, apartments, warehouses, and cell towers.

### How much has VNQ returned per year?

From September 2004 to October 2026, VNQ returned about 7.3% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −73.1%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use VNQ?

21 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold VNQ, including Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), Bold Asset Allocation (BAA), Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA).

## Sources

- [Vanguard: Vanguard Real Estate ETF fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vnq)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.