State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) has introduced an accumulating share class for the SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate UCITS ETF on London Stock Exchange and Xetra.

The fund provides exposure to the global real estate market including REITs and real estate operating companies.

The new share class trades under the tickers GLRA LN (USD) and SPY2 GY (EUR) and is aimed at investors looking to automatically capitalize dividend income within the portfolio.

The fund is physically backed and provides exposure to the global real estate market by tracking the Dow Jones Global Select Real Estate Securities Index.

The index measures the performance of publicly-traded real estate securities and is designed to serve as a proxy for direct real estate investment.

The index covers both developed and emerging markets and consists of both real estate investment trusts (REITs) and real estate operating companies.

To be included in the index, a company must be both an equity owner and operator of commercial and/or residential real estate.  A company must also have a minimum market capitalization of at least $200 million at the time of its inclusion (and $100 million on an ongoing basis), and at least 75% of its total revenue must be derived from the ownership and operation of real estate assets. Companies must also meet certain minimum requirements for liquidity.

Excluded are companies that have more than 25% of their assets in direct mortgage investments, as well as certain businesses such as mortgage REITs, timber REITS, finance companies, home builders, and large landowners.

The fund debuted in October 2012, and distributing share classes are available on Xetra, London Stock Exchange, SIX Swiss, and Borsa Italiana.

It comes with an expense ratio of 0.40% and is one of the largest real estate ETFs in Europe with total AUM in excess of $900 million. The largest real estate ETF is the iShares Developed Markets Property Yield UCITS ETF (IDWP LN) which houses over $3.1 billion.