It’s Almost as Good as a Vacation: Foreign Real Estate ETFs Are a Hot Destination

Foreign real estate exchange traded funds (ETFs) are more popular this year than their domestic counterparts. According to Morningstar, $6 billion was funneled into foreign real estate funds, which is substantially more than what was invested in domestic property funds. Investor interest in foreign real estate ETFs has increased because the number of foreign REITs has grown. Most foreign real estate ETFs have a bulk of their holdings in large, developed markets in Western Europe, North America and Asia, reports Jeff D. Opdyke for The Wall Street Journal.

For investors eager to jump on this opportunity and cut costs, the recently released WisdomTree International Real Estate Fund (DRW) follows an index that is heavily tilted toward Asia and Australia. It’s up .3% for the month. Another option is the Dow Jones Wilshire International Real Estate ETF (RWX) that is based upon an index that excludes the United States and focuses on smaller countries like Poland and Malaysia. This fund from State Street Global is up 4.8% year-to-date.