At a glance
VRAI charges 0.55% a year, above the 0.13% average of the 6 funds most like it (the most expensive of 7). It has $18.6M in assets, the 7th largest of that group; it paid 3.04% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +23.4% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the best of those 7 funds; over three years it returned +15.6% a year. At its worst it fell 25.9% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 39 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 12.6% of the fund, out of 90 in all.
The short version
Virtus Real Asset Income ETF (VRAI) tracks the Indxx Real Asset Income Index: 90 U.S.-listed real estate, natural resources and infrastructure companies chosen for three-year dividend growth and held in equal amounts. It shares no more than 17% of its holdings with the real estate ETFs it most resembles, and its trailing 12-month yield was 3.04% as of October 27, 2026. Its 0.55% expense ratio (annual fee) is far above their 0.13% average.
Price history
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VRAI +23.4% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VRAI official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +6.52% | — | +5.40% | — | +3.78% |
| VRAI price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +25.5% | +23.4% | +15.6% | +6.0% | — | +10.5% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, VRAI returned +23.4%, 1st of 7 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +6.0%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.0%); its best was 2021 (+24.4%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 26.7% (Apr 20, 2022 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Jan 21, 2026.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +25.5% | — |
| 2025 | +6.7% | +6.52% |
| 2024 | +2.6% | +2.79% |
| 2023 | +6.1% | +5.70% |
| 2022 | -10.0% | -9.36% |
| 2021 | +24.4% | +24.01% |
| 2020 | — | -6.06% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 18.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 25.9%, back to its old high 39.3 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.4800 | |
| 2025 | $1.0800 | -33.3% |
| 2024 | $1.6200 | +36.1% |
| 2023 | $1.1900 | +13.3% |
| 2022 | $1.0500 | +14.1% |
| 2021 | $0.9200 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 90 securities; the ten largest made up 12.58% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| HF SINCLAIR CORP | 1.47% | |
| STEPAN COMPANY | 1.27% | |
| SM ENERGY COMPANY | 1.25% | |
| CENOVUS ENERGY INC | 1.25% | |
| CAL-MAINE FOODS INC | 1.23% | |
| SHELL PLC | 1.23% | |
| MURPHY OIL CORP | 1.23% | |
| BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP | 1.22% | |
| PLAINS ALL AMERICAN PIPELINE LP | 1.21% | |
| OVINTIV INC | 1.21% | |
| CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD | 1.21% | |
| BP PLC | 1.21% | |
| REXFORD INDUSTRIAL REALTY INC | 1.20% | |
| PLAINS GP HOLDINGS LP | 1.20% | |
| PERMIAN RESOURCES CORP | 1.19% |
By country
United States 79.96%United Kingdom 3.41%Brazil 3.15%Canada 2.46%Bermuda 1.22%By asset type
Stocks 97.48%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $0.00 (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -2.07%, +0.12%, +3.46%.
How it works
VRAI aims to match, before fees, the Indxx Real Asset Income Index, with at least 80% of assets in the index's securities. Indxx uses FactSet industry classifications to sort U.S.-listed companies into three groups: real estate, including property-owning real estate investment trusts (REITs); natural resources, such as oil, metals, steel and farm goods; and infrastructure, such as utilities, telecom, transportation and master limited partnerships (MLPs), which are partnerships that trade like stocks.
To qualify, a company needs a market value of at least $250 million and average daily trading of at least $500,000. It also must have paid dividends in both the latest 12 months and the same span three years earlier. The 30 companies with the fastest three-year dividend growth in each group are picked, 90 in all, and weighted equally. MLPs are capped at 20% of the index and 15 names. As of July 31, 2026, the largest holding, HF Sinclair, was just 1.47%, and the top 10 totaled 12.58%.
The index is rebuilt yearly and rebalanced quarterly, and the fund follows. Portfolio turnover, the share of holdings traded in a year, was 57%. The fund will not shift to cash when markets fall. As of July 31, 2026, it held no derivatives and about 80% of assets were in U.S. companies. Shell and BP are held through American depositary receipts (U.S.-traded shares of foreign firms).
What it really costs
- VRAI charges 0.55% a year, versus an average of 0.13% for the similar funds below (7th of 7, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $56 in the first year and $689 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VRAI | $56 | $176 | $307 | $689 |
In a retirement portfolio
It adds an equal-weighted mix of real estate, natural resources and infrastructure companies that overlaps little with standard real estate ETFs, though it has still fallen hard in market slumps.
VRAI could add real estate, natural resources and infrastructure exposure plus quarterly income. Its trailing 12-month yield was 3.04% as of October 27, 2026. It launched in February 2019, so it has no 2008 record. In the first quarter of 2020, as COVID-19 hit markets, it lost 35.96%. From April 20 to October 14, 2022, it fell about 27%. It did not regain that peak until January 21, 2026, about 39 months later. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -9.36%.
Anyone who had to cash in shares near the 2022 low would have locked in that loss. The 0.55% expense ratio is the highest of the seven funds compared. The SEC's standard example puts costs at $689 over 10 years on $10,000, assuming 5% annual returns. Past results don't predict future returns, and any plan needs to consider the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors wanting one fund spanning real estate, natural resources and infrastructure, spread equally across 90 companies with multi-year dividend records.
- Holders seeking quarterly income from companies picked for dividend growth; the trailing 12-month yield was 3.04% as of October 27, 2026.
- Owners of standard real estate index funds seeking something different; VRAI shared at most 17% of holdings with six such funds.
Look elsewhere if
- Cost-conscious investors: the 0.55% expense ratio is the highest of seven funds compared; the other six averaged 0.13%.
- Those who prefer large, established funds; VRAI had just $18.6 million in net assets as of July 31, 2026.
- Anyone needing stable value: it lost 35.96% in the first quarter of 2020 and needed about 39 months to recover from its 2022 fall.
Close alternatives
Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VRAI this fund | — | 0.55% | $18.6M | +23.4% | +15.6% |
| SCHH Schwab US REIT ETF · different strategy | 17% | 0.07% | $11.20B | +7.1% | +14.1% |
| FREL Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF · different strategy | 17% | 0.084% | $1.49B | +3.2% | +13.3% |
| DFAR Dimensional US Real Estate ETF · different strategy | 16% | 0.19% | $1.78B | +7.6% | +14.0% |
| RWR SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF · different strategy | 16% | 0.25% | $1.84B | +8.6% | +15.6% |
| USRT iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF · different strategy | 16% | 0.08% | $4.66B | +8.5% | +15.9% |
| VNQ Vanguard Real Estate ETF · different strategy | 15% | 0.13% | $73.11B | +9.6% | +13.8% |
Questions investors ask
Does VRAI pay monthly dividends?
No. VRAI pays dividends every quarter, not every month. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $0.87 per share, a trailing yield of 3.04%. The income comes from the stocks, real estate investment trusts and master limited partnerships it holds. To join the index, a company must have paid dividends in the latest 12 months and in the same span three years earlier. Payouts can still rise or fall from one quarter to the next.
What does VRAI invest in?
VRAI invests in 90 real estate, natural resources and infrastructure companies, held in roughly equal amounts. As of July 31, 2026, the largest were HF Sinclair (1.47%), Stepan (1.27%), SM Energy (1.25%), Cenovus Energy (1.25%) and Cal-Maine Foods (1.23%). The top 10 made up 12.58% of assets. About 80% was in U.S. companies, with smaller stakes from the United Kingdom, Brazil and Canada. The prospectus says the index was concentrated in real estate and energy industries as of October 31, 2025.
What is VRAI's 5-year return?
VRAI's average annual return was 5.4% for the five years to December 31, 2025, according to its prospectus. Since its February 2019 launch it returned 3.78% a year. Calendar years have swung widely, from 24.01% in 2021 to -9.36% in 2022, with 6.52% in 2025. Based on market prices through October 27, 2026, it gained 25.5% year to date, which is not a full year. It averaged 15.6% a year over three years.
What's the difference between VRAI and VNQ?
VNQ, the Vanguard Real Estate ETF, is a much larger and cheaper real estate fund. VRAI mixes real estate with natural resources and infrastructure companies, so the two are not like-for-like. They shared only about 15% of their holdings in the latest reports. VNQ charges 0.13% a year against VRAI's 0.55%. VNQ had about $73.1 billion in net assets as of July 31, 2026, versus VRAI's $18.6 million. Over one year, VRAI returned 23.4% through October 27, 2026, and VNQ returned 9.6% through October 30, 2026.
Is VRAI a good inflation hedge?
It may help, but there is no guarantee. Virtus expects the fund's real estate, natural resources and infrastructure holdings to offer some protection against inflation over the long term, because their values are generally linked to it. The prospectus also warns that the fund may provide no such protection. VRAI is still a stock fund. It lost 9.36% in 2022, and its price fell about 27% between April and October 2022, so it can drop sharply alongside other stocks.