Vanguard Utilities ETF
$181.05+0.93 (+0.52%)
- 0.09%
- $10.1B
- −5.3%
- 2.89%
- 0.3M sh
- $180.12
- low $169.37high $206.10
The ETF.net VPU Grade
B
Score 67 out of 100
- 3 of 10
Score 67 of 100 falls in the B 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.A72 out of 100Rank 3 of 10Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A88 out of 100Rank 2 of 6Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C41 out of 100Rank 8 of 10Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C53 out of 100Rank 6 of 10Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C54 out of 100Rank 6 of 10Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A83 out of 100Rank 1 of 10
Our read on VPU
BUtilities, the whole sector, not just the S&P 500 slice. VPU tracks an index that reaches past the megacap names into mid and small utilities, about 70 in all, for 0.09% a year. Vanguard has run it since 2004.
The fund seeks to track the MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index through a primarily full-replication, passively managed strategy.
Why people hold it
- At 0.09% a year, it costs roughly a quarter of the median utilities fund fee. In a sector where the holdings barely differ between funds, the fee is most of the fight.
- Its MSCI Investable Market benchmark spans large, mid and small US utilities. XLU, by contrast, drafts only from the S&P 500 universe, so the smaller names never appear.fund-docs.vanguard.comssga.com
- The index's 25/50 caps exist to keep any single issuer under 25% and the pile of 5%-plus names under half the fund, a guardrail in a sector with a few giants.msci.com
- Plain full replication since 2004: buy the index, hold the index. Tracking here has been among the tightest in the US utilities group.
Worth knowing
- One sector, about 70 stocks. It swings on rate expectations and regulator decisions, with nothing outside utilities to cushion it.
- XLU and FUTY shave the fee to 0.08%, and XLU is the more heavily traded ticker if order size matters to you.
- Income arrives quarterly, not monthly, so the cash lands in four lumps a year.
VPU Holdings
- Stocks
- 71
- 53%
- NEE
Sectors
- Utilities99.2%
- Energy0.5%
- Industrials0.3%
Geography
- United States99.97%
- Cayman Islands0.03%
VPU Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VPU$9,473
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 | VPU |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −0.7% |
| 1 month | −1.0% |
| 3 months | −7.5% |
| 1 year | −5.3% |
| 3 years | +15.8% |
| 5 years | +8.3% |
| 10 years | +9.0% |
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 | VPU |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −0.7% | |
| 2025 | +16.5% | |
| 2024 | +23.1% | |
| 2023 | −7.5% | |
| 2022 | +1.0% | |
| 2021 | +17.4% | |
| 2020 | −0.8% |
VPU in the news
VPU Dividends
- 2.89%
- $5.20
- $1.26 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
VPU Risk
- 14.8%
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.
- 0.64
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.
- −25.1%
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.
- 0.50
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VPU Cost
0.09%
VPU0.09%
- The middle half of Utilities (Broad) funds
- Median 0.33%
2 of the 10 Utilities (Broad) funds charge less.
Other funds in Utilities (Broad)
- AFUTYFidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −5.2%
- AXLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −5.1%
- BJXIiShares Global Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return +2.7%
- BIDUiShares U.S. Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return −4.6%
- BRSPUInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −3.1%