Category Review
The large US oil-company fund returned 45% this year. A pipeline-and-power fund returned 13%.
Vanguard Energy ETF
$187.97+3.38 (+1.83%)
- 0.09%
- $13.2B
- +57.5%
- 2.21%
- 0.6M sh
- $184.59
- low $119.84high $186.23
The ETF.net VDE Grade
A
Score 70 out of 100
- 3 of 25
Score 70 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A92 out of 100Rank 3 of 25Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C45 out of 100Rank 17 of 24Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B61 out of 100Rank 8 of 25Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C49 out of 100Rank 17 of 25Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 25
Our read on VDE
AEnergy without the mega-cap tunnel vision. VDE tracks an index of roughly 110 US energy stocks, large down to small cap, for 0.09% a year, and it has been running since 2004.
The fund seeks to track the MSCI US Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index, which represents large-, mid-, and small-cap U.S. energy-sector stocks.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.09% a year, a fraction of what the typical energy sector fund charges.
- Casts a wider net than mega-cap-only energy funds: about 110 large-, mid- and small-cap US names, from the integrated majors to shale drillers and refiners.investor.vanguard.com
- Hugs its benchmark closely and trades actively, which tends to keep spreads slim for everyday buys and sells.
- Live since 2004 and one of the strongest builds in the broad energy group, with a Vanguard fee structure that has only ratcheted downward.
Worth knowing
- One sector, one storyline: this rides crude and natural gas prices, and it swings harder in both directions than a total-market fund.
- Cap-weighted, so a handful of US oil majors carry outsized weight despite the long holdings list; the index's 25/50 rules limit that concentration rather than erase it.investor.vanguard.com
- Income arrives quarterly, not monthly, and moves with what energy companies choose to pay out.
VDE Holdings
- Stocks
- 114
- 66%
- XOM
Sectors
- Energy99.5%
- Materials0.4%
- Industrials0.1%
Geography
- United States100.00%
VDE Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VDE$15,749
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | VDE |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +49.3% |
| 1 month | +1.1% |
| 3 months | +19.4% |
| 1 year | +57.5% |
| 3 years | +18.0% |
| 5 years | +22.3% |
| 10 years | +10.3% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | VDE |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +49.3% | |
| 2025 | +7.1% | |
| 2024 | +6.8% | |
| 2023 | 0.0% | |
| 2022 | +62.9% | |
| 2021 | +56.2% | |
| 2020 | −33.1% |
VDE in the news
VDE Dividends
- 2.21%
- $4.08
- $1.05 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
VDE Risk
- 20.4%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.53
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −26.6%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- −0.01
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VDE Cost
0.09%
VDE0.09%
- The middle half of Energy (Broad) funds
- Median 0.46%
2 of the 24 Energy (Broad) funds charge less.
Other funds in Energy (Broad)
- AXLEState Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return +59.3%
- AFENYFidelity MSCI Energy Index ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return +57.7%
- BENFRAlerian Energy Infrastructure ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return +30.3%
- BIYEiShares U.S. Energy ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return +56.8%
- BRSPGInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +57.9%