coywesley:

On March 31, 2007 VGSIX, REIT Index had $12,566 Million in Assets Under Management.  By Dec. 31, 2007 VGSIX had shrunk down to $8,839 Million.  As of March 31, 2008 it has increased back up to $9,652 Million.  This is not exactly how to Buy-And-Hold, is it?  I guess the -16.5% loss in 2007, and the rebound of +11.19% gain YTD had nothing to do with it either:^(

Differences in net assets reflect not only the number shares outstanding, but also the change in NAV.  To eliminate the difference due to change in NAV, let's compare the net assets with the dollar amount of net shares bought.

According the the January 31, 2008 annual report for the fund, the fund started the fiscal year with $12,892 million in net assets.  During the year there was a net of $430 million in capital shares transaction.  A -3.3% difference in the value of net shares bought may not be exactly buy-and-hold, but it is close.