The 10 Real Estate ETFs For Retirees That Offer Growth, And Income

If you’re looking for a solid investment that will protect your portfolio from excessive volatility and generate income, you may want to jump into real estate investment trusts or REITs.

For one, real estate serves as a hedge against inflation.

Key Points About This Article 

• If you want to keep your investment portfolio safe and generate income, you should strongly consider real estate investment trusts (REITs).
• They offer diversification and as a hedge against inflation and market volatility.
• Some of the leading REITs provide exposure to offices, apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers and hotels, or a combination of all. All while paying out high attractive yields.
• Also: Take this quiz to see if you’re on track to retire^(Sponsored)

That’s because when inflation runs hot, rents will rise. Plus, some of the leading REITs provide exposure to offices, apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping centers and hotels, or a combination of all. All while paying out high attractive yields.

Two, according to analysts at ICR, as noted by Forbes.com, REITs are expected to produce a total return of 9.5% this year. In addition, according to Nareit’s 2025 REIT Outlook:

“In a world that will be marked by increasing and accelerating change, we see opportunities for REITs in 2025. Specifically, we expect REITs to: find accretive growth opportunities as CRE transactions increase; continue leading globally as they embody the megatrends that will define real estate for the next decade: specialization, scale, innovation, and sustainability; and make critical inroads with institutional investors seeking efficient access to CRE.”

There’s Substantial Growth for Commercial Real Estate

Within commercial real estate, industrial real estate remains strong thanks to e-commerce, logistics and warehouse demands, as noted by JPMorgan. Retail space demand is still strong thanks to grocery-anchored shopping centers.

According to CBRE analysts, 2025 will see further strength in office space demand. They also note that retail entered 2025 with the lowest vacancy rate of any commercial real estate sector. They also note that multi-family property vacancies will fall thanks to strong tenant demand.

Medical office space is still seeing significant demand with an aging population.  In fact, according to Cushman & Wakefield, demand for medical office space should rise in 2025 after annual sales transactions pick up momentum in 2024.

We also have to consider the increasing demand for data center REITs, especially with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

“The global data center market is growing fast and showing no signs of slowing down. Most estimates project a compounded annual growth rate of around 12%, but some experts think that number is low,” added US News & World Report.

In short, there’s big growth ahead.

iShares Core US REIT ETF

With an expense ratio of 0.08%, the iShares Core US REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:USRT) yields 3.04%. It offers exposure to 133 holdings, including diversified REITs and other real estate holdings across multiple property sectors. Some of its top holdings include Prologis REIT, Welltower, Equinix REIT, Simon Property, Digital Realty Trust and Realty Income REIT.

Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF 

With a yield of about 8.71%, the Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF (NASDAQ:KBWY) invests at least 90% of its total assets in the securities of small and mid-cap equity REITs that trade in the U.S. and carry respectable yields. Some of its top holdings include Global Net Lease, Service Properties Trust, Global Medical REIT, Gladstone Commercial, EPR Properties and Omega Healthcare to name a few.

It also has an expense ratio of 0.35% and just paid a monthly dividend of $0.12623 on February 28. That was up slightly from the $0.12622 paid on January 21.

Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate ETF

We can also look at the Pacer Benchmark Data & Infrastructure Real Estate SCTR ETF (NYSEARCA:SRVR).

With an expense ratio of 0.60% and a yield of 2.16%, the ETF offers exposure to global companies that generate substantial revenue from real estate operations in the data and infrastructure markets. Some of its top holdings include American Tower, Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and SBA Communications to name just a few. SRVR also just paid out a quarterly dividend of $0.034142 on February 2.

iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF 

With an expense ratio of 0.48%, the iShares Mortgage Real Estate ETF (NYSE:REM) offers exposure to commercial and residential mortgage real estate. It also yields 9.14% and just paid out a quarterly dividend of $0.87141438 per share on December 20.

Some of its top holdings include Annaly Capital, AGNC Investment, Starwood Property, Rithm Capital, Arbor Realty, Two Harbors Investment and Chimera Investment to name a few.

JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI US REIT ETF 

There’s also the JPMorgan BetaBuilders MSCI US REIT ETF (CBOE:BBRE).

With an expense ratio of 0.11% and a yield of 3.78%, the ETF tracks the performance of US equity REIT securities. It also seeks results that correspond to the US equity market by investing 80% of its assets in the securities on the MSCI US REIT Custom Capped Index.

Some of its 115 holdings include Prologis REIT, Welltower, Equinix, Simon Property, Digital Realty Trust, Realty Income, and Public Storage REIT. It also just paid out a quarterly dividend of $0.92502 per share on December 27.

First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund 

We can also take a look at the First Trust S&P REIT Index Fund (NYSEARCA:FRI).

With an expense ratio of 0.53% and a yield of 3.38%, the FRI ETF seeks investment results similar to the S&P United States REIT Index. Some of the top FRI ETF holdings include Prologis, Welltower, Equinix, Simon Property, Realty Income, Public Storage, Digital Realty Trust and AvalonBay Communities to name just a few. About 16.75% of its portfolio is made up of retail ETFs. About 16.08% of the portfolio is invested in health care REITs.

The FRI ETF just paid a quarterly dividend of $0.4349 on December 31.

SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF

With an expense ratio of 0.25% and a yield of 3.62%, the SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:RWR) is another attractive opportunity.  This one provides exposure to publicly traded REIT securities in the U.S. and seeks to provide returns similar to the Dow Jones US Select REIT Capped Index.

Some of its 102 holdings include Prologis, Equinix, Welltower, Realty Income, Simon Property, Extra Space Storage and Ventas Inc. It also just paid a dividend of $1.432398 on December 26.

Schwab US REIT ETF 

We can also look at the Schwab US REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHH).

With an expense ratio of 0.07% and a yield of 3.76%, the ETF tracks the total return of an index of US REITs, which excludes mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. Some of its 123 holdings include Prologis, American Tower, Welltower, Digital Realty Trust, Crown Castle and Simon Property. The REIT also paid out a quarterly dividend of $0.2421 on December 16.

DFA Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF 

With an expense ratio of 0.23% and a yield of 3.57%, the DFA Dimensional Global Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:DFGR) invests in US and non-US companies involved with real estate. That includes developed and emerging markets with a focus on REITs.

It currently has 443 holdings, which include American Tower, Digital Realty Trust, Simon Property, Public Storage, Crown Castle and Goodman Group.

DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETF 

With an expense ratio of 0.4% and a yield of 5.93%, the DoubleLine Commercial Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:DCRE) invests in “investment grade commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), employing active management across sector and security-level commercial real estate (CRE) exposures, while maintaining a low level of interest rate risk,” as noted by DoubleLine.com.

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