U.S. real estate exchange-traded funds logged $2.47 billion of net outflows during the fourth quarter of 2018 after receiving more than $2.56 billion of net inflows in the previous quarter. For the full year, U.S. real estate-focused ETFs saw a total of $2.55 billion of net outflows.

Vanguard Group Inc.'s Vanguard Real Estate ETF recorded the largest outflow during the quarter, at $1.50 billion, while BlackRock Inc.'s iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF and iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF also logged net outflows of $792.9 million and $515.6 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, SSgA Funds Management Inc.'s SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF and BlackRock's iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF were among those receiving net inflows during the quarter, at $192.3 million and $169.8 million, respectively.

While all U.S. real estate-focused ETFs logged negative total returns for the quarter, all but one outperformed the S&P 500. BlackRock's iShares Residential Real Estate ETF held the highest three-month return, with more than $100 million of assets under management at year-end, just 2 basis points below the break-even mark. Invesco Capital Management LLC's Invesco KBW Premium Yield Equity REIT ETF, on the other hand, was the sole ETF of the group to underperform the S&P 500 over the quarter, with a -19.0% return.

Looking at 2018 as a whole, the iShares Residential Real Estate ETF was the only ETF of the group to generate a positive one-year total return, at 3.9%.

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