WTRE
New Economy Real Estate Fund
Balancing Tech Growth and Real Estate Stability in Your Portfolio
Published September 19, 2025
Christopher Gannatti, CFA
Global Head of Research
Baoqi Zhu
Senior Associate, Quantitative Research and Multi Asset Solutions
Key Takeaways
- As of August 2025, WTRE has returned around 15% year-to-date, more than double traditional REIT benchmarks, by leaning into the growth of data centers, telecom infrastructure and logistics real estate.
- Despite the macroeconomic headwinds facing traditional real estate, WTRE offers investors a compelling blend of tech-fueled growth, higher dividend yields and lower volatility than pure tech indexes.
- With recent additions like satellite telecom and blockchain-enabled infrastructure, WTRE deepens its alignment with digital megatrends while expanding investor access to the backbone of the future economy.
When you think of real estate investing, traditional images of office towers, residential apartments or shopping malls might spring to mind. Yet today, the real momentum is in assets that power the digital economy: data centers, logistics hubs and telecom infrastructure. These new economy assets aren't just reshaping landscapes; they're redefining the real estate investment opportunity.
Shifting Away from Traditional Assets
The real estate landscape is evolving, with traditional sectors influenced by economic cycles and shifting consumer behaviors. However, tech-driven real estate, including the logistics facilities underpinning e-commerce, telecom infrastructure and data centers, benefits from robust long-term structural growth drivers such as digitalization, cloud computing and accelerating data consumption.
The WisdomTree New Economy Real Estate Fund (WTRE)'s industry composition distinctly reflects this strategic orientation, with a substantial allocation to specialized real estate investment trusts (REITs) like data centers and telecom towers, industrial REITs supporting e-commerce logistics and direct investments in software and related technology services. On the contrary, the global REITs benchmark, the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index, allocates around 40% to segments that are less driven by tech, such as retail REITs, residential REITs, etc. This intentional industry tilt away from less tech-driven real estate sectors ensures greater alignment with durable tech growth trends.
Figure 1: GICS Breakdown—WisdomTree New Economy Real Estate Index vs. Global REITs Benchmark
Sources: WisdomTree, Bloomberg. The benchmark's constituents as of 8/29/25. WisdomTree's constituents are based on the target weights for the rebalancing date (9/19/25). WisdomTree refers to the WisdomTree New Economy Real Estate Index, tracked by WTRE. The Global Benchmark is the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index. The U.S. benchmark is the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index. GICS is the Global Industry Classification Standard. GICS Industry represents the third level classification in the GICS hierarchy. You cannot invest directly in an index. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance, and any investments may go down in value.
Balancing Growth, Volatility and Income
WTRE's strategic emphasis on tech-driven assets has translated into significant comparative advantages. Compared to traditional real estate benchmarks, WTRE has notably higher estimated long-term growth, benefiting directly from the secular tech trends underpinning its portfolio. As of September 12, WTRE returned around 30% year-to-date,1 more than double broad REIT benchmarks such as the FTSE EPRA NAREIT Developed Index and the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index.
Figure 2a: Standardized Performance
Sources: WisdomTree, FactSet, Morningstar, Bloomberg, specifically data from the Fund Comparison Tool in the PATH suite of tools, accessed 8/22/25, with returns as of 6/30/25. The Fund's investment objective, strategy and policy changed effective 4/10/25. Prior to that date, Fund performance reflects the investment objective of the Fund when it tracked the performance, before fees and expenses, of the CenterSquare New Economy Real Estate Index. NAV denotes total return performance at net asset value. MP denotes market price performance. The performance data quoted represents past performance and is not indicative of future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For the most recent month-end and standardized performances, click here.
Figure 2b: YTD Cumulative Performance Comparison: WTRE vs. REITs Benchmarks
Sources: WisdomTree, Bloomberg. Data from 12/31/24 to 9/12/25. The Global Benchmark is the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index. The U.S. benchmark is the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index. The Fund's performance is based on the Fund's NAV in USD. You cannot invest directly in an index. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance, and any investments may go down in value.
Benefiting from its tech-driven portfolio, WTRE also exhibits higher forward-looking growth. Its estimated long-term earnings growth is approximately 10.6%,2 surpassing both global and U.S. real estate benchmarks. Additionally, compared to pure technology indexes like the Nasdaq 100 or MSCI World IT, WTRE provides a superior balance by offering substantially higher dividend yields (2.7% vs. less than 0.7% for tech indexes)3 and notably lower one-year volatility.
Figure 3: Balancing Growth, Volatility and Dividend Yield: WTRE vs. Real Estate and Tech Benchmarks
Sources: WisdomTree, Bloomberg, volatility as of 8/21/25. Est. Long-Term Growth and dividend yields are as of 7/31/25. The size of the bubble denotes trailing 12-month aggregate net dividend yields. WisdomTree denotes WisdomTree New Economy Real Estate Fund. The Global Benchmark is the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Index. The U.S. Benchmark is the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs Index. Volatility of the Fund is based on the Fund's NAV in USD. You cannot invest directly in an index. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance, and any investments may go down in value.
Thus, WTRE occupies a unique position, capturing tech-driven growth while maintaining real estate-like stability and income. Investors looking to harness the growth of technology with reduced volatility and steady dividends will find WTRE uniquely well-positioned.
Strategic Index Enhancement: Telecom Satellites Take Center Stage
To deepen thematic alignment with tech megatrends, WisdomTree introduced two new groups into the range of eligible tech enablement: next-generation digital infrastructure and telecom satellites. Next-generation digital infrastructure includes blockchain-enabled data centers, crypto-mining facilities and other high-performance computing infrastructures, capitalizing on rising digital asset adoption and blockchain technologies.
Meanwhile, telecom satellite infrastructure significantly enhances connectivity. While traditional telecom towers provide critical ground-based infrastructure, satellite telecom companies, such as AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), extend connectivity into space. Advances in direct-to-cell technology allow modern smartphones to receive signals directly from satellites, significantly broadening the potential customer base. The inclusion of these strategic new groups not only diversifies the Fund but also aligns it firmly with cutting-edge technological trends.
Figure 4: AST SpaceMobile One-Year Cumulative Performance
Sources: WisdomTree, Bloomberg, as of 7/30/25. FCC denotes Federal Communications Commission. ASTS denotes AST SpaceMobile. Historical performance is not an indication of future performance, and any investments may go down in value.
Conclusion
As the real estate sector continues to evolve, tech-driven assets provide opportunities to access growth segments while offering dividend income and relatively lower volatility compared to pure technology strategies. WTRE stands uniquely positioned to capture these opportunities, providing targeted exposure to the infrastructure powering tomorrow's new economy. Investors seeking a balance between long-term growth, dividend income and reduced volatility relative to technology equities may consider WTRE as part of their portfolio strategy.
1 Source: Bloomberg.
2 Source: Bloomberg, as of 7/31/25.
3 Source: Bloomberg, as of 7/31/25.
Important Risks Related to this Article
For current holdings, please click here. Holdings are subject to risk and change.
There are risks associated with investing, including the possible loss of principal. Foreign investing involves special risks, such as risk of loss from currency fluctuation or political or economic uncertainty. Investments in real estate involve additional special risks, such as credit risk, interest rate fluctuations and the effect of varied economic conditions. A Fund focusing on a single country and/or sector and/or emphasizing investments in smaller companies may experience greater price volatility. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index regardless of their investment merit, and the Fund does not attempt to outperform its Index or take defensive positions in declining markets. Please read the Fund’s prospectus for specific details regarding the Fund’s risk profile.
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About the contributors
Christopher Gannatti, CFA
Global Head of Research
Christopher Gannatti began at WisdomTree as a Research Analyst in December 2010, working directly with Jeremy Schwartz, CFA®, Director of Research. In January of 2014, he was promoted to Associate Director of Research where he was responsible to lead different groups of analysts and strategists within the broader Research team at WisdomTree. In February of 2018, Christopher was promoted to Head of Research, Europe, where he was based out of WisdomTree’s London office and was responsible for the full WisdomTree research effort within the European market, as well as supporting the UCITs platform globally. In November 2021, Christopher was promoted to Global Head of Research, now responsible for numerous communications on investment strategy globally, particularly in the thematic equity space. Christopher came to WisdomTree from Lord Abbett, where he worked for four and a half years as a Regional Consultant. He received his MBA in Quantitative Finance, Accounting, and Economics from NYU’s Stern School of Business in 2010, and he received his bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in Economics in 2006. Christopher is a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst Designation.
Baoqi Zhu
Senior Associate, Quantitative Research and Multi Asset Solutions
Baoqi Zhu joined WisdomTree in 2023 as a Senior Associate on the Research team. Baoqi focuses on quantitative research on thematic equity indices and portfolio solutions. Prior to WisdomTree, Baoqi spent over two years at Ernst & Young (EY) in their Quantitative Advisory Services, where he was involved in the research and development of quantitative risk models. Earlier in his career, Baoqi served as a quantitative analyst within a multi-asset structuring team at Maven Global for more than three years. His responsibilities included designing and optimising bespoke hedging strategies based on derivatives. Baoqi holds a MSc in Financial Engineering & Risk Management from Imperial College London and a BSc in Actuarial Science from Nankai University, China. He is also a certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM).