VanEck Gold Miners ETF vs Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF — how do they compare? VanEck Gold Miners ETF trades at $71.7, while Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF trades at $99.65. The key difference: Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund ETF is trading nearer its 52-week high, VanEck Gold Miners ETF nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| GDX | VNQ | |
|---|---|---|
52-Week High | $115.84 | $98.66 |
52-Week Low | $51.15 | $87.00 |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is trading at $71.97, down 3.89% over the past 24 hours, with a strong bearish technical signal from moving averages. The fund provides exposure to senior gold mining equities, which are currently trading at historically low valuations according to recent analysis, with forward P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples at five-year lows. Recent news highlights ongoing comparisons with lower-fee bullion ETFs and debates about the optimal vehicle for gold exposure.
The outlook presents a dichotomy: attractive valuation metrics and record free cash flow yields suggest potential upside if gold prices rally, while technical weakness and competition from more efficient gold ETFs pose significant risks. A re-rating to historical valuation norms could imply 20% upside, but the fund's performance remains heavily dependent on gold price movements and mining company operational execution.
VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF) trades at $98.865, up 1.33% with a bullish technical signal supported by 16 buy indicators. The ETF has delivered a 12% year-to-date total return through mid-July 2026, though the rally has recently stalled. Technical analysis shows strong bullish momentum in moving averages while oscillators remain neutral. Recent news highlights VNQ's competitive expense ratio and liquidity advantages over peers, with real estate ETFs broadly outperforming the market despite interest rate pressures.
The outlook for VNQ remains positive given real estate sector momentum and AI-driven data center REIT performance, though sensitivity to Treasury yields presents near-term risk. Income investors benefit from the ETF's diversified real estate exposure without landlord responsibilities. Key risks include interest rate volatility and inflation persistence, but the sector shows resilience with REIT-rate correlations weakening as fundamentals improve.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
The fund normally invests at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks and depositary receipts of companies involved in the gold mining industry. The index is a modified market-capitalization weighted index primarily comprised of publicly traded companies involved in the mining for gold and silver. The fund is non-diversified.
Read more on GDX →The fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index, an index made up of stocks of large, mid-size, and small US companies within the real estate sector. The Advisor attempts to replicate the target index by seeking to invest all of its assets in the stocks that make up the index, in order to hold each stock in approximately the same proportion as its weighting in the index. It is non-diversified.
Read more on VNQ →