Co-written by Lee Munson and Charles Major and published April 16, 2010 on www.seekingalpha.com

We set out to compare two broad-based and heavily traded REIT ETFs in order to discover if they have different compositions and how any differences effect long-term performance. After a basic review of the holdings a few things stood out. The difference in performance could be attributed either to the inclusion of mortgage REIT’s into IYR’s composition or to the heavier weight of VNQ’s top sector positions within the category. We did not find enough differences between the compositions of the two ETF’s over time to warrant a strong opinion either way. In the end, long-term cost structure and trading liquidity appear to have the greatest impact.

Lee Eugene Munson and Lorraine Ell analyze the value of ETFs. Published on Seeking Alpha

When ETFs came on the scene 15 years ago, they brought a brave new world of efficient markets with low operating expenses and minimal tax liability. While the largest funds like DIA and SPY are designed in the spirit of the original ETFs, to track the large indexes, most of the newer ones do not even come close to this original purpose.

If the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) is correct, then only two ETFs are needed at most, a world stock index such as the Vanguard Total World Stock Index (VT) and a bond index like the Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), in a ratio that fits your risk tolerance. Anything more, if we are to be philosophically true to the EMH, tips into the realm of active investing.
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