VGSLX vs VNQ (2026)
Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund Admiral Shares and Vanguard Real Estate ETF side by side. VGSLX and VNQ are share classes of one fund, Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund: one portfolio, filed with the SEC as one, so the holdings, overlap and flows below are the fund's, the same for both. What differs is the fee, how each is bought (a mutual fund once a day at its closing price, an ETF on an exchange through the day) and the small gap in returns that follows. VNQ is the cheaper fund (0.12% vs 0.13% expense ratio). Over the last five years VNQ returned more (+4.66% vs +4.64%, total return). Their portfolios overlap by about 100% of weight. Not investment advice.
Fund facts#
| VGSLX | VNQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Sector Funds | Real Estate |
| Expense ratio | 0.13% | 0.12% |
| AUM | $73.1B | $38.9B |
| Distribution yield | — | 3.48% |
| Holdings | 141 | 141 |
| 1 month return | +4.8% | +4.8% |
| YTD return | +9.2% | +9.2% |
| 1 year return | +9.6% | +9.6% |
| 3 years return | +47.4% | +47.4% |
| 5 years return | +4.6% | +4.7% |
| 10 years return | — | +73.9% |
| 3Y CAGR | +13.8%/yr | +13.8%/yr |
| 5Y CAGR | +0.9%/yr | +0.9%/yr |
| 10Y CAGR | — | +5.7%/yr |
| Issuer | Vanguard | Vanguard |
| Inception | — | 2004-09-23 |
All returns are total returns (dividends reinvested), from daily adjusted closes. CAGR = compound annual growth rate. '—' means the fund's history doesn't span the horizon. A mutual fund's AUM is its whole fund's, every share class together (its SEC filing); an ETF's is its own. Returns run to Oct 30, 2026, the last month-end, as fund companies report a mutual fund's: a fund that pays monthly books each month's income on its last business day, so a return to a later day would leave that month's income out.
Annualized returns (CAGR)#
Compound annual growth rate per holding period, total return, from weekly adjusted closes. Horizons a fund's history can't span show no bar; horizons no fund spans are omitted.
Performance, rebased#
Returns by year#
| Year | VGSLX | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | — | +4.9% |
| 2018 | — | -6.0% |
| 2019 | — | +28.9% |
| 2020 | -4.8% | -4.6% |
| 2021 | +40.4% | +40.5% |
| 2022 | -26.2% | -26.3% |
| 2023 | +11.8% | +11.9% |
| 2024 | +4.9% | +4.8% |
| 2025 | +3.2% | +3.2% |
| 2026 YTD | +9.2% | +9.2% |
Total returns (dividends reinvested), calendar years.
Returns by year, charted#
Holdings overlap#
VGSLX and VNQ overlap by about 100% of portfolio weight — 141 shared holdings out of 141 in VGSLX and 141 in VNQ, from each fund's latest SEC filing (Jul 31, 2026 / Jul 31, 2026).
Only in VGSLX
None — every VGSLX holding is also in the other fund.
Only in VNQ
None — every VNQ holding is also in the other fund.
Top 10 holdings, side by side#
Merged top 10 across the funds — each column is the holding's % of that fund.
Sector weights#
| Sector | VGSLX | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate | 78.1% | 78.1% |
| Financials | 2.7% | 2.7% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Energy | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Not on ChartRow | 18.5% | 18.5% |
Sector weights, charted#
Estimated portfolio characteristics#
| VGSLX | VNQ | |
|---|---|---|
| P/E (trailing) | — | — |
| P/B | 2.6 | 2.6 |
| Dividend yield | 3.35% | 3.35% |
| Earnings growth (TTM) | +38.3% | +38.3% |
Weighted by each fund's filed holdings, over the members we track. Shown only when every fund's tracked coverage is high enough for the average to mean something.
Growth from any starting date#
Hover to move the starting point — every fund rebases to 1× at that date, so the comparison holds from any entry point back to 2019 (the earliest date all 2 funds existed). Log scale, weekly total returns.
Fund flows#
| Period | VGSLX | VNQ |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | −$58.9M | −$58.9M |
| Jun 2026 | +$1.1B | +$1.1B |
| May 2026 | +$157.2M | +$157.2M |
| Apr 2026 | — | −$244.7M |
| Mar 2026 | — | +$110.8M |
| Feb 2026 | — | +$332.5M |
Net creations minus redemptions, derived from consecutive SEC N-PORT filings. The form only exists since mid-2019.
Fund flows, charted#
Methodology#
Returns are total returns (dividends reinvested) from daily adjusted closes. Holdings, overlap, sector weights and flows derive from each fund's public SEC filings (Form N-PORT), anchored on the latest filing and rolled forward daily by price moves. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight across shared holdings. See each fund's full holdings: VGSLX holdings · VNQ holdings. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.
FAQ#
- VGSLX or VNQ — which is better?
- VNQ is the cheaper fund (0.12% vs 0.13% expense ratio). Over the last five years VNQ returned more (+4.66% vs +4.64%, total return). Their portfolios overlap by about 100% of weight. One Vanguard portfolio in two wrappers — VGSLX, the Admiral mutual fund shares priced once a day after the close, and VNQ, the ETF traded all day.
- How much do VGSLX and VNQ overlap?
- VGSLX and VNQ overlap by about 100% of portfolio weight, sharing 141 holdings (per each fund's latest SEC N-PORT filing, weights rolled forward to today).
- Is ChartRow affiliated with any of these funds?
- No. ChartRow is independent and not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Vanguard. Comparisons are derived independently from public SEC filings and market data; not investment advice.