
Real asset ETFs can be a great way to diversify your investment portfolio. They provide exposure to tangible assets such as real estate, commodities, and infrastructure.
These ETFs offer a low-cost and efficient way to invest in assets that historically have a low correlation with stocks and bonds.
By investing in real asset ETFs, you can potentially reduce your portfolio's overall volatility and increase its returns.
Real asset ETFs often have a long-term focus, which can be beneficial for investors with a long-term perspective.
What Are Real Asset ETFs?
Real asset ETFs are a type of investment that allows you to own a small piece of a physical asset, such as gold or real estate.
These ETFs are designed to track the performance of a specific asset class, like commodities or infrastructure, providing diversification benefits and potential long-term growth.
They often use a combination of physical assets and derivatives to replicate the performance of the underlying asset.
Real asset ETFs can be a great way to invest in assets that historically perform well during times of economic uncertainty, such as gold or oil.
Some real asset ETFs even offer the opportunity to earn rental income or collect dividends, making them a more passive income-generating investment.
These ETFs can be a good option for investors who want to add some stability and diversification to their portfolios.
They can be traded on major stock exchanges, just like individual stocks, making it easy to buy and sell shares.
Benefits and Features
Real asset ETFs offer a unique combination of benefits and features that can enhance your investment portfolio. They provide exposure to tangible investments with intrinsic value, such as commodities, real estate, and natural resources.
Real asset ETFs are designed to provide a real return consisting of capital appreciation and current income, as seen in the SPDR SSGA Multi-Asset Real Return ETF. This means that they aim to outperform financial assets during inflationary times, making them an attractive option for investors.
Real assets are less affected by inflation, shifts in currency values, and other macroeconomic factors, making them a more stable investment option. They also provide a diversification benefit, as they often move in opposite directions to financial assets like stocks or bonds.
Here are some of the key benefits of real asset ETFs:
- Portfolio diversification
- Inflation hedge
- Income stream
These benefits can lead to improved investment outcomes, including low historical correlations and improved diversification, which may improve risk-adjusted returns.
Key Features
The SPDR SSGA Multi-Asset Real Return ETF is designed to provide a real return through a combination of capital appreciation and current income.
This ETF seeks to give investors exposure to a wide range of assets, including domestic and international inflation-protected securities, real estate securities, commodities, infrastructure companies, and companies in natural resources and commodity businesses.
The investment process behind this ETF is quite sophisticated, relying on a proprietary quantitative model to identify potential investments, as well as fundamental views on market trends and factors that may not be captured by the quantitative model.
Here are some of the key assets that the ETF targets:
- Domestic and international inflation-protected securities
- Real estate securities
- Commodities
- Infrastructure companies
- Companies in natural resources and commodity businesses, including:
- Agriculture
- Energy
- Metals and mining companies
- Industrial and utility companies
Three Key Advantages to Investing
Investing in real assets can be a smart move for your portfolio. Real assets tend to be more stable than financial assets, making them a great choice during inflationary times.
One of the key advantages of real assets is their ability to provide a hedge against inflation. Inflation can erode the value of financial assets, but real assets tend to hold their value or even increase in value during periods of high inflation.
Real assets can also provide a steady income stream, which can be attractive to investors looking for regular returns. This is because many real assets, such as real estate and commodities, can generate income through rental income or dividends.
Here are three key advantages to investing in real assets:
- Portfolio diversification
- Inflation hedge
- Income stream
These advantages can help improve your investment outcomes and provide a more stable financial future. By including real assets in your portfolio, you can reduce your reliance on financial assets and create a more balanced investment mix.
Investing in Real Asset ETFs

Investing in real asset ETFs can be a smart move for your portfolio, especially if you're looking to diversify and potentially boost your returns.
A key advantage of real asset ETFs is their ability to improve investment outcomes through low historical correlations and improved diversification. This can lead to better risk-adjusted returns.
When choosing a real asset ETF, consider looking for funds with $100 million or more in assets, as they tend to be more established and less likely to fold unexpectedly.
Funds with expense ratios of 0.40% or less are a good target, as they will cost you less in fees over time. This translates to $40 per year on every $10,000 invested.
Finding the Best REITs
Start with a fund that has at least $100 million in assets under management. This ensures the fund is well-established and less likely to fold or overcharge investors.
Look for funds with expense ratios of 0.40% or less. This means you'll pay $40 per year on every $10,000 invested, which is a reasonable ceiling.

Seek out a yield of 2.5% or better. This will give you regular payouts that are more substantial than what you'd get from the S&P 500 Index, which currently yields about 1.6%.
Most investors diversify across more than 100 individual holdings in their portfolio, including commercial real estate, residential housing, and industrial park REITs.
Largest REITs
The largest REIT ETFs are a good place to start your search for a real estate investment. Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) has a whopping $32.05 billion in assets under management.
These large REIT ETFs often come with lower annual expenses, making them a more affordable option for investors. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) has an annual expense ratio of 0.12%.
One of the largest REIT ETFs, the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ), yields 4.25%. This means that for every dollar invested, you can expect to earn 4.25 cents in dividend income.
The Schwab U.S. REIT ETF (SCHH) has $6.4 billion in assets under management and an annual expense ratio of 0.07%.
Understanding Real Asset ETFs

Real Asset ETFs are a type of investment that allows you to own a portion of a tangible asset, like gold or machinery.
These assets have a tangible form and their value is derived from their physical qualities, not from their market value like securities do.
Real Asset ETFs can provide a way to diversify your portfolio and potentially reduce risk by investing in assets that historically perform well during times of economic uncertainty.
What Is a REIT?
A REIT, or real estate investment trust, is a special class of company that must deliver 90% of its taxable income back to shareholders, in exchange for preferential tax treatment of its operations.
REITs require a lot of capital to own or maintain massive real estate holdings, which is why they're incentivized to provide economic growth potential.
One of the big appeals of REITs is the mandate for big dividends, which is a result of their structure.
REITs boast some of the highest dividend yields, making them attractive to investors.
You can buy REITs for a fraction of the cost of physical real estate, as you only have to meet the sticker price on a single share.
Historically Low Correlation

Real assets have historically had a low correlation to the other assets you are most likely to already hold—stocks and traditional bonds.
This means that adding real assets to your portfolio can provide a diversification benefit. Real assets have historically had a low correlation to the other assets you are most likely to already hold—stocks and traditional bonds.
In other words, real assets tend to perform differently than stocks and bonds, which can help reduce overall portfolio risk. Real assets have historically had a low correlation to the other assets you are most likely to already hold—stocks and traditional bonds.
For example, during times of market volatility, real assets like gold or farmland may increase in value, while stocks and bonds may decrease.
Understanding
Real assets have a tangible form and derive their value from physical qualities. This can include natural substances like gold or oil.
A real asset can also be a man-made one, such as machinery or buildings. These assets are often used to generate income or provide a service.

Their value is not based on the market's perception, unlike securities. This makes them a unique investment option for those looking for a more tangible return.
Real assets can be used to diversify a portfolio and reduce risk. By investing in a variety of assets, you can spread out your investments and potentially reduce your losses.
Special Considerations
As you delve into the world of real asset ETFs, it's essential to consider the unique characteristics of these investments. Real assets, which include financial assets like shares of stock, can be illiquid, making it difficult to quickly sell them.
Tangible assets, which group real and financial assets together, have additional considerations such as storage fees and transport costs.
Real assets, like a fleet of cars or a factory, require physical maintenance and can be prone to obsolescence, but they also offer a tangible presence that can be valuable to a business.
Sources
- https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/etfs/603304/7-reit-etfs-for-every-type-of-investor
- https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/spdr-ssga-multi-asset-real-return-etf-rly
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/realasset.asp
- https://www.investmentexecutive.com/news/products/real-asset-etfs-can-diversify-tech-heavy-portfolios/
- https://russellinvestments.com/ca/solutions/financial-professionals/real-assets-solutions
Featured Images: pexels.com