DBX ETF Trust - Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF

Xtrackers International Real Estate ETF (HAUZ), from DWS, is an index fund that holds about 400 real estate companies and REITs (real estate investment trusts) outside the United States. Japan is its largest country. What sets it apart is cost: its expense ratio is 0.10%, the lowest of nine similar funds, whose average is 0.34%. Vanguard's VNQI is worth comparing: it charges 0.12% and shares about 80% of HAUZ's holdings.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, HAUZ returned -6.9%, 8th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -2.3% and its 10-year +2.3%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 39.3% and regained its old high 13.5 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-22.2%); its best was 2017 (+27.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 39.5% (Feb 14, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by May 26, 2021.

As of May 29, 2026, the fund held 403 securities; the ten largest made up 22.71% of assets. It also reported 6.29% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to May 29, 2026, investors added a net $59.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -13.48%, +7.47%, -2.07%.

HAUZ tracks the iSTOXX Developed and Emerging Markets ex USA PK VN Real Estate Index. STOXX, part of Deutsche Börse Group, builds and runs the index. It covers publicly traded real estate companies and equity REITs in developed and emerging markets outside the United States, leaving out Pakistan and Vietnam. The index is weighted by free-float market value. That means larger companies count for more, based only on the shares actually available to trade. As of July 31, 2026, the index had 386 securities, and Japan made up a large share of it.

The fund doesn't have to buy every stock in the index. It uses "representative sampling," which means holding a group of stocks that behaves like the whole index, and it keeps at least 80% of net assets in index stocks. The index is rebalanced every quarter. As of May 29, 2026, the largest holdings were Goodman Group (4.8%), Mitsubishi Estate (3.2%), Mitsui Fudosan (2.7%), Sun Hung Kai Properties (2.3%) and Sumitomo Realty & Development (2.3%). The top 10 made up 22.71% of the fund.

The fund does not hedge currencies, so a stronger dollar can reduce returns. It holds small stock-index futures positions and may lend out up to one-third of its assets. Much of its 6.29% cash appears to be collateral from that lending.

• HAUZ charges 0.1% a year, versus an average of 0.34% for the similar funds below (1st of 9, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $10 in the first year and $128 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds non-US property companies spread across many countries, and over the year to October 27, 2026 its beta was 0.62, meaning its price moved only partly in line with the broader market.

HAUZ could add landlords and property developers in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Europe and emerging markets, a slice of real estate that a US-focused portfolio often lacks. Its price has swung a lot. The fund launched in 2013, so it has no record from 2008. It fell 39.3% in the 2020 COVID crash and took about 13.5 months to recover. It dropped 32% in 2022, its worst calendar year, and didn't get back to its earlier peak until January 26, 2026, about 39.5 months later. Anyone who had to sell during those stretches would have locked in losses.

The yield over the past 12 months was 3.77% as of October 27, 2026. The fund pays twice a year, so income comes in lumps. Costs are low. In the SEC's standard example of $10,000 invested, costs come to $10 in the first year and $128 over ten years. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.