FXG vs VDC: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund

FXGDNYSE Arca

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF

VDCBNYSE Arca

Overlap

24.9%by weight

Expense ratio

VDC −0.54pt a year

FXG0.63%VDC0.09%

Avg volume · 30D

VDC 12.3×the volume

FXG13.5KVDC166K

10Y return · a year

VDC +3.9pt

FXG+5.0%VDC+8.9%

FXG vs VDC Performance

Nov 2, 2021 – Nov 2, 2026

+19.1%FXG+48.5%VDC

Expense ratio: FXG 0.63%; VDC 0.09%, better
Fund size: FXG $210M; VDC $8.7B
1Y total return: FXG +4.6%; VDC +21.2%, better
Yield (12M): FXG 2.00%, better; VDC 1.98%
Holdings: FXG 41; VDC 110
Avg volume (30D): FXG 13.5K sh; VDC 166K sh, better
NAV per share: FXG $61.82; VDC $242.22
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FXG, VDC, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FXG	VDC
Cost30% weight	F6	A82Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	Not scored
Risk15% weight	F23	B68Higher
Tradability15% weight	D37	B55Higher
Holdings10% weight	A77Higher	C44
Durability5% weight	B57	A86Higher

Rank among Consumer Staples (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FXG and VDC are both graded against the same 12 Consumer Staples (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Consumer Staples (Broad)⁠

Category · 12 funds

See all 12 ›

VDC ranks 3rd and FXG 12th of 12 funds in the Consumer Staples (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AXLPState Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 83
Rank 2AFSTAFidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETFScore 75
Rank 3BVDCVanguard Consumer Staples ETFScore 68
Rank 4BIYKiShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETFScore 56
Rank 11DPBJInvesco Food & Beverage ETFScore 32
Rank 12DFXGFirst Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX FundScore 28

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FXGDFirst Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund

VDCBVanguard Consumer Staples ETF

In short

FXG Most consumer staples ETFs just buy the sector by size. FXG runs a rules-based screen on growth, value and profitability, then holds roughly 40 names, a deliberately different shape cut from the same shelf. On the tape since 2007.

VDC Vanguard's take on the boring-on-purpose sector: about 100 US large-, mid- and small-cap staples names (soap, soda, groceries) for 0.09% a year, running since 2004.

Stated mandate

FXG The fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the StrataQuant® Consumer Staples Index before fees and expenses.

VDC The fund seeks to track the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index, which measures the performance of large-, mid-, and small-cap U.S. consumer staples stocks.

Why people hold it

FXG Ranks staples stocks on growth, value and profitability rather than market size, then holds roughly 40 of them. A different portfolio shape from the cap-weighted default.ftportfolios.com
Live since 2007 through several market cycles, and it has tracked its StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index closely.
Plain vanilla plumbing: a 1940 Act equity fund with no leverage or derivatives in the mandate, paying distributions quarterly.

VDC Charges 0.09% a year. Only XLP and FSTA sit lower at 0.08%, while the equal-weight and global alternatives (RSPS, KXI) run 0.38% to 0.40%.
Its index spans large-, mid- and small-cap US staples, roughly 100 stocks, so mid-sized beverage and household-products makers count, not just the mega-cap handful.
Hugs its MSCI benchmark tightly, one of the closer index implementations among broad consumer staples funds.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that has been trading since 2004 and pays out quarterly.

Worth knowing

FXG The screen costs money: 0.63% a year against a 0.40% category median, while index peers XLP, VDC and FSTA charge under a tenth of a percent.
Thinly traded next to the sector's giants, so bid-ask spreads and limit orders matter more here.
A concentrated screened basket can move well away from the standard staples benchmark, in either direction.

VDC One sector, one story. Staples move with grocery aisles and household budgets, not the broad market.
Even with the index's 25/50 diversification caps, a few giant food, beverage and retail names carry most of the weight.
Moderately traded rather than the category's volume leader, so limit orders earn their keep on larger trades.

Full FXG profile⁠

Full VDC profile⁠

FXG vs VDC Holdings

How FXG and VDC differ

Overlap by weight

24.9%

Shared holdings make up 79.8% of FXG and 48.2% of VDC.

Level by level

Holdings34 in both24.9%
Sector6 Sectors85.8%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in FXG and VDC, widest gap first
Sector	More in FXGMore in VDC	FXG	VDC
Consumer Staples	VDC +13.9 points	84.3%	98.2%
Health Care	FXG +5.2 points	5.2%	0.0%
Consumer Discretionary	FXG +4.8 points	5.7%	0.9%
Industrials	FXG +3.7 points	4.0%	0.3%
Materials	FXG +0.5 points	0.8%	0.3%
Technology	VDC +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FXG and VDC, widest gap first
Country	More in FXGMore in VDC	FXG	VDC
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FXG40.3%
VDC66.0%

Securities held

FXG40
VDC108

Asset class

FXG: Equity
VDC: Equity

Holdings

Only in FXG6
In both34
Only in VDC74

Only in FXG

6 securities, 20.2% of FXG by weight

Cardinal Health, Inc.4.37%
Smithfield Foods, Inc.3.80%
McKesson Corporation3.62%
JBS N.V. (Class A)3.43%
Cencora, Inc.2.57%
CVS Health Corporation2.45%

Only in VDC

74 securities, 51.6% of VDC by weight

Walmart Inc13.86%
Costco Wholesale Corp12.12%
Philip Morris International Inc4.83%
Target Corp2.50%
Colgate-Palmolive Co2.28%
Kenvue Inc1.26%
Dollar General Corp1.02%
Estee Lauder Cos Inc/The0.90%
Church & Dwight Co Inc0.88%
Dollar Tree Inc0.82%
US Foods Holding Corp0.80%
Kraft Heinz Co/The0.78%
General Mills Inc0.69%
J M Smucker Co/The0.57%
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc0.54%
elf Beauty Inc0.34%
Maplebear Inc0.34%
Conagra Brands Inc0.34%
Molson Coors Beverage Co0.32%
Chefs' Warehouse Inc/The0.29%
PriceSmart Inc0.29%
Celsius Holdings Inc0.28%
United Natural Foods Inc0.23%
WD-40 Co0.23%
Cal-Maine Foods Inc0.22%
Vita Coco Co Inc/The0.22%
Andersons Inc/The0.22%
Interparfums Inc0.21%
Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc0.19%
Marzetti Company/The0.19%
Central Garden & Pet Co0.19%
TRS:KIMBERLY-CLARK CORP USD 2027-Aug-310.18%
Herbalife Ltd0.16%
Energizer Holdings Inc0.16%
Boston Beer Co Inc/The0.16%
Ingles Markets Inc0.16%
Edgewell Personal Care Co0.16%
Del Monte Corp0.15%
J & J Snack Foods Corp0.15%
Turning Point Brands Inc0.14%
Universal Corp/VA0.14%
Utz Brands Inc0.13%
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp0.13%
Dole PLC0.13%
Coty Inc0.12%
Weis Markets Inc0.12%
BellRing Brands Inc0.12%
Seneca Foods Corp0.11%
Oil-Dri Corp of America0.10%
Simply Good Foods Co/The0.10%

Weight gaps

All 34 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FXG and VDC, widest gap first
Holding	More in FXGMore in VDC	FXG	VDC
The Procter & Gamble CompanyPG	VDC +8.17 points	1.73%	9.90%
The Coca-Cola CompanyKO	VDC +7.25 points	2.54%	9.80%
Freshpet, Inc.FRPT	FXG +4.34 points	4.55%	0.21%
Post Holdings, Inc.POST	FXG +4.20 points	4.43%	0.23%
Pilgrim's Pride CorporationPPC	FXG +3.98 points	4.13%	0.15%
Seaboard CorporationSEB	FXG +3.68 points	3.82%	0.14%
Ingredion IncorporatedINGR	FXG +3.60 points	3.93%	0.33%
McCormick & Company, IncorporatedMKC	FXG +3.48 points	3.96%	0.48%
Reynolds Consumer Products Inc.REYN	FXG +3.24 points	3.39%	0.15%
The Campbell's CompanyCPB	FXG +3.17 points	3.35%	0.18%
Constellation Brands, Inc. (Class A)STZ	FXG +3.05 points	3.72%	0.67%
Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.COKE	FXG +2.98 points	3.45%	0.47%
Altria Group, Inc.MO	VDC +2.96 points	0.90%	3.86%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.LW	FXG +2.72 points	3.02%	0.30%
PepsiCo, Inc.PEP	VDC +2.60 points	1.68%	4.28%
Darling Ingredients Inc.DAR	FXG +2.39 points	2.85%	0.46%
Brown-Forman CorporationBF.B	FXG +2.27 points	2.55%	0.28%
Tyson Foods, Inc. (Class A)TSN	FXG +2.03 points	2.63%	0.60%
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.SFM	FXG +2.00 points	2.33%	0.33%
Bunge Global S.A.BG	FXG +1.51 points	2.10%	0.59%
Albertsons Companies, Inc. (Class A)ACI	FXG +1.50 points	1.75%	0.25%
Hormel Foods CorporationHRL	FXG +1.35 points	1.66%	0.31%
Primo Brands Corporation (Class A)PRMB	FXG +1.34 points	1.61%	0.27%
Archer-Daniels-Midland CompanyADM	FXG +0.85 points	2.26%	1.41%
Mondelez International, Inc.MDLZ	VDC +0.84 points	1.74%	2.58%
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc.KDP	VDC +0.56 points	0.92%	1.48%
The Clorox CompanyCLX	FXG +0.40 points	0.84%	0.44%
The Kroger Co.KR	VDC +0.34 points	0.88%	1.22%
Monster Beverage CorporationMNST	VDC +0.31 points	1.77%	2.08%
Sysco CorporationSYY	FXG +0.28 points	1.65%	1.37%
Performance Food Group CompanyPFGC	FXG +0.23 points	0.84%	0.61%
Kimberly-Clark CorporationKMB	VDC +0.16 points	0.86%	1.02%
The Hershey CompanyHSY	VDC +0.08 points	0.82%	0.90%
Casey's General Stores, Inc.CASY	FXG +0.02 points	0.87%	0.85%

All 40 FXG holdings⁠All 103 VDC holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FXG vs VDC Cost

Overpaying FXG vs VDC

$10,461

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FXG 0.63%
$12,359
VDC 0.09%
$1,898

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FXG 0.63%
VDC 0.09%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FXG	VDC	Overpaying
10	$1,128	$165	$963
20	$4,311	$646	$3,665
30	$12,359	$1,898	$10,461

Expense ratio

0.63%FXG
0.09%VDC, cheaper

VDC0.09%FXG0.63%

0.08%0.63%

Middle half of Consumer Staples (Broad) funds
Median 0.38%

VDC 3rd cheapest of 12 funds

FXG 11th cheapest of 12 funds

FXG vs VDC Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): FXG 2.00%, better; VDC 1.98%
Payout (12M): FXG $1.26; VDC $4.88
Last payment: FXG $0.33; VDC $1.21
Ex-dividend: FXG Sep 24, 2026; VDC Sep 23, 2026
Paid on: FXG Sep 30, 2026; VDC Sep 25, 2026
Frequency: FXG Quarterly; VDC Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FXGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll FXG payments⁠

VDCQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VDC payments⁠

FXG vs VDC Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FXG 15.2%VDC 13.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FXG 0.06VDC 0.67, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FXG −16.0%, betterVDC −16.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FXG 0.51VDC 0.50; Market = 1

FXG and VDC in the news

All news⁠

New ETFs
A new US bank ETF puts 42% in four megabanks and charges 0.14%
Oct 5, 2026VDC
News
Costco beats Q4 estimates with $95.7 billion of revenue and $6.75 EPS
Sep 24, 2026VDC

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