Mortgage REITs vs the S&P 500 (MORT): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, MORT has outperformed the S&P 500 by 0.4 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where MORT sits on the rotation map
Mortgage REITs highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
MORT vs SPY: head-to-head returns
MORT (mortgage reits) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means MORT won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Mortgage REITs (MORT) has just turned the corner. Over the longer, time-shifted window it trailed the S&P 500 by 10.5 points, but over the past month it has moved narrowly ahead of the market — a 0.4-point edge that puts it in the improving quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #39 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, MORT's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. MORT's relative-strength line — its price ratio against the S&P 500 — is trading above its moving averages, the healthiest configuration we track. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF, whose 25 tracked holdings are led by ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC, AGNC INVESTMENT CORP and STARWOOD PROPERTY TRUST INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 10.3× earnings and 6.5× sales. The thing to watch from here is confirmation: improving groups that hold a positive one-month spread long enough for the longer window to turn are the classic early-rotation entries — the ones that fail fall back quickly.
What's inside MORT
Top 5 of 25 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Mortgage REITs vs the market — common questions
Is mortgage reits outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month MORT has outperformed the S&P 500 by 0.4 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is MORT?
MORT is VanEck Mortgage REIT Income ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the mortgage reits group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in MORT?
MORT's largest tracked positions are ANNALY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT INC, AGNC INVESTMENT CORP, STARWOOD PROPERTY TRUST INC, RITHM CAPITAL CORP, DYNEX CAPITAL INC — 25 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is mortgage reits in right now?
As of the latest daily data, mortgage reits is in the improving quadrant — behind the market over the longer window, but ahead over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track mortgage reits against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.