FYI: The Vanguard REIT ETF began the gradual transition to a new benchmark as of Friday, Feb. 2.
The fund has changed its name to the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) while retaining the same ticker. However, it has changed its index, dropping the MSCI US REIT Index for the MSCI US IMI Real Estate 25/50 Transition Index. Sometime in the third quarter of this year, it will again change indexes in order to adopt the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index as its benchmark.
The change expands the scope of the fund’s coverage beyond just REITs to include other types of real estate companies such as those involved in services and development as well as other REITs, as Todd Rosenbluth wrote in September 2017.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.etf.com/sections/daily-etf-watch/vanguard-etf-sees-changes
