Active Real Estate ETF Alert: Virtus Launches High-Yield REIT Income Strategy

Virtus Investment Partners (NYSE:VRTS) has rolled out a new actively managed fund, the Virtus Duff & Phelps Real Estate Income ETF (NYSE:DPRE), further expanding its multi-manager ETF platform.

The ETF aims to deliver high current income with capital appreciation as a secondary objective. The launch underscores growing demand for income-focused strategies that balance yield with risk management, particularly in the real estate segment, where volatility and rate sensitivity remain key investor concerns.

Key features:

• Targets a hybrid allocation: 60%–80% in equity REITs and 20%–40% in investment-grade real estate debt and preferred securities
• Focuses on high current income, with capital appreciation as a secondary goal
• Uses an actively managed, multi-asset approach to potentially reduce volatility versus pure equity REIT exposure
• Leverages Duff & Phelps' bottom-up research and valuation-driven process
• Marks the 25th ETF under Virtus' ETF Solutions platform
• Designed to offer tax-efficient income exposure within an ETF wrapper

The fund enters a space still largely dominated by passive real estate ETFs, positioning itself as a more flexible alternative for investors seeking yield without taking on full equity market risk.

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