IDU vs VPU: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares U.S. Utilities ETF

IDUBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Utilities ETF

VPUBNYSE Arca

Overlap

89.1%by weight

Expense ratio

VPU −0.28pt a year

IDU0.37%VPU0.09%

Avg volume · 30D

VPU 1.9×the volume

IDU164KVPU313K

10Y return · a year

VPU +0.1pt

IDU+8.9%VPU+9.0%

IDU vs VPU Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+50.5%IDU+49.3%VPU

Expense ratio: IDU 0.37%; VPU 0.09%, better
Fund size: IDU $1.42B; VPU $9.5B
1Y total return: IDU +1.6%, better; VPU −0.1%
Yield (12M): IDU 2.32%; VPU 2.77%, better
Holdings: IDU 49; VPU 71
Avg volume (30D): IDU 164K sh; VPU 313K sh, better
NAV per share: IDU $111.02; VPU $187.56
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IDU, VPU, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IDU	VPU
Cost30% weight	C41	A72Higher
Mission25% weight	A90Higher	A88
Risk15% weight	C49Higher	D39
Tradability15% weight	B62Higher	C53
Holdings10% weight	C42	C47Higher
Durability5% weight	B66	A83Higher

Rank among Utilities (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IDU and VPU are both graded against the same 10 Utilities (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Utilities (Broad)⁠

Category · 10 funds

See all 10 ›

VPU ranks 3rd and IDU 5th of 10 funds in the Utilities (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AFUTYFidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETFScore 75
Rank 1AXLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 75
Rank 3BVPUVanguard Utilities ETFScore 66
Rank 4BJXIiShares Global Utilities ETFScore 60
Rank 5BIDUiShares U.S. Utilities ETFScore 59
Rank 6CRSPUInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETFScore 54

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IDUBiShares U.S. Utilities ETF

VPUBVanguard Utilities ETF

In short

IDU Utilities, but drawn from the Russell 1000 and FTSE Russell's sector map, which files waste and disposal services under utilities. Live since 2000, roughly 50 large and mid-cap names, quarterly payouts.

VPU Utilities, 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.

Stated mandate

IDU The fund seeks to track an index composed of U.S. equities in the utilities sector.

VPU 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

IDU Its index uses FTSE Russell's classification, which places waste and disposal services inside utilities, so the basket can reach past pure power and gas names.ishares.com stoxx.com
Built from a subset of the Russell 1000, so mid-cap utilities sit alongside the giants, not just the mega-cap slice.ishares.com
Trading since 2000 with a billion-dollar-plus asset base, it has tracked its index closely and pays quarterly.
The 22.5/45 in the index name is a diversification cap, trimming the largest utility positions rather than letting one name run the show.ishares.com

VPU 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.vanguard.com ssga.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

IDU At 0.37%, the fee sits near the category median but well above XLU at 0.08%, FUTY at 0.084% and VPU at 0.09%. No waiver is in place.
One sector, about 50 holdings: the fund rises and falls with regulated utilities, and the cap still leaves top names carrying real weight.ishares.com
That different sector map cuts both ways: the mix can diverge from utilities funds built on other classification systems.stoxx.com

VPU 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.

Full IDU profile⁠

Full VPU profile⁠

IDU vs VPU Holdings

How IDU and VPU differ

Overlap by weight

89.1%

Shared holdings make up 93.9% of VPU and 89.3% of IDU.

Level by level

Sector10 Sectors0.0%
Holdings41 in both89.1%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in IDU and VPU, widest gap first
Sector	More in IDUMore in VPU	IDU	VPU
Utilities	VPU +99.2 points	0.0%	99.2%
Electric Utilities	IDU +56.5 points	56.5%	0.0%
Multi-Utilities	IDU +22.4 points	22.4%	0.0%
Environmental & Facilities Services	IDU +10.3 points	10.3%	0.0%
Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders	IDU +4.7 points	4.7%	0.0%
Gas Utilities	IDU +3.0 points	3.0%	0.0%
Water Utilities	IDU +2.5 points	2.5%	0.0%
Renewable Electricity	IDU +0.6 points	0.6%	0.0%
Energy	VPU +0.5 points	0.0%	0.5%
Industrials	VPU +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IDU and VPU, widest gap first
Country	More in IDUMore in VPU	IDU	VPU
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IDU52.2%
VPU52.5%

Securities held

IDU46
VPU69

Asset class

IDU: Equity
VPU: Equity

Holdings

Only in IDU5
In both41
Only in VPU28

Only in IDU

5 securities, 10.6% of IDU by weight

Waste Management Inc5.40%
Republic Services Inc3.02%
Gfl Environmental Subordinate Voti0.98%
Clean Harbors Inc0.95%
Brookfield Renewable Subordinate V0.25%

Only in VPU

28 securities, 5.7% of VPU by weight

SLBBH11420.43%
TXNM Energy Inc0.42%
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc0.40%
Black Hills Corp0.39%
Portland General Electric Co0.37%
New Jersey Resources Corp0.37%
Ormat Technologies Inc0.34%
ONE Gas Inc0.33%
Spire Inc0.33%
Northwestern Energy Group Inc0.30%
Otter Tail Corp0.24%
American States Water Co0.23%
Chesapeake Utilities Corp0.22%
Avista Corp0.21%
California Water Service Group0.20%
MGE Energy Inc0.19%
H2O America0.15%
Northwest Natural Holding Co0.14%
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc0.11%
Middlesex Water Co0.07%
XPLR Infrastructure LP0.07%
Unitil Corp0.07%
York Water Co/The0.04%
Hallador Energy Co0.04%
Consolidated Water Co Ltd0.03%
Artesian Resources Corp0.02%
Cadiz Inc0.02%
Genie Energy Ltd0.02%

Weight gaps

All 41 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in IDU and VPU, widest gap first
Holding	More in IDUMore in VPU	IDU	VPU
Nextera EnergyNEE	VPU +0.57 points	10.86%	11.43%
Constellation Energy CorpCEG	VPU +0.52 points	5.23%	5.75%
VistraVST	VPU +0.49 points	2.89%	3.38%
Duke Energy CorpDUK	VPU +0.26 points	6.17%	6.43%
American Electric Power IncAEP	VPU +0.26 points	4.41%	4.67%
Dominion EnergyD	VPU +0.21 points	3.64%	3.85%
SempraSRE	VPU +0.19 points	3.50%	3.69%
Nrg Energy IncNRG	VPU +0.18 points	1.21%	1.39%
Entergy CorpETR	VPU +0.16 points	3.19%	3.35%
PG&E CorpPCG	VPU +0.15 points	1.80%	1.95%
Eversource EnergyES	VPU +0.15 points	1.60%	1.75%
Oklo Class AOKLO	VPU +0.13 points	0.22%	0.35%
Public Service Enterprise GroupPEG	VPU +0.13 points	2.30%	2.43%
Ppl CorpPPL	VPU +0.12 points	1.67%	1.79%
Atmos EnergyATO	VPU +0.12 points	1.77%	1.89%
Firstenergy CorpFE	VPU +0.12 points	1.60%	1.72%
AesAES	VPU +0.12 points	0.65%	0.77%
Edison InternationalEIX	VPU +0.11 points	1.39%	1.50%
AmerenAEE	VPU +0.09 points	1.90%	1.99%
Xcel Energy IncXEL	VPU +0.08 points	3.10%	3.18%
Dte EnergyDTE	VPU +0.08 points	1.75%	1.83%
EvergyEVRG	VPU +0.08 points	1.23%	1.31%
Alliant Energy CorpLNT	IDU +0.07 points	1.15%	1.08%
American Water WorksAWK	IDU +0.07 points	1.78%	1.71%
SouthernSO	VPU +0.05 points	6.71%	6.76%
Consolidated EdisonED	VPU +0.06 points	2.67%	2.73%
Exelon CorpEXC	VPU +0.05 points	2.94%	2.99%
Cms EnergyCMS	VPU +0.05 points	1.36%	1.41%
Oge EnergyOGE	VPU +0.05 points	0.63%	0.68%
Fervo Energy Class AFRVO	VPU +0.04 points	0.04%	0.08%
UgiUGI	VPU +0.03 points	0.52%	0.55%
Talen EnergyTLN	IDU +0.03 points	0.95%	0.92%
National Fuel GasNFG	VPU +0.03 points	0.47%	0.50%
NisourceNI	VPU +0.02 points	1.33%	1.35%
Wec Energy GroupWEC	VPU +0.03 points	2.35%	2.38%
Centerpoint EnergyCNP	VPU +0.01 points	1.73%	1.74%
Pinnacle WestPNW	VPU +0.02 points	0.80%	0.82%
Mdu Resources GroupMDU	VPU +0.01 points	0.26%	0.27%
Clearway Energy Inc Class CCWEN	VPU +0.01 points	0.24%	0.25%
IdacorpIDA	Same weight	0.52%	0.52%
Essential Utilities IncWTRG	IDU +0.01 points	0.77%	0.76%

All 46 IDU holdings⁠All 69 VPU 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.

IDU vs VPU Cost

Overpaying IDU vs VPU

$5,615

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

IDU 0.37%
$7,513
VPU 0.09%
$1,898

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IDU 0.37%
VPU 0.09%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IDU	VPU	Overpaying
10	$670	$165	$505
20	$2,590	$646	$1,944
30	$7,513	$1,898	$5,615

Expense ratio

0.37%IDU
0.09%VPU, cheaper

VPU0.09%IDU0.37%

0.08%0.61%

Middle half of Utilities (Broad) funds
Median 0.33%

VPU 3rd cheapest of 10 funds

IDU 6th cheapest of 10 funds

IDU vs VPU Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IDU 2.32%; VPU 2.77%, better
Payout (12M): IDU $2.58; VPU $5.20
Last payment: IDU $0.65; VPU $1.26
Ex-dividend: IDU Sep 15, 2026; VPU Sep 23, 2026
Paid on: IDU Sep 18, 2026; VPU Sep 25, 2026
Frequency: IDU Quarterly; VPU Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IDUQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll IDU payments⁠

VPUQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VPU payments⁠

IDU vs VPU Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IDU 15.2%, betterVPU 15.6%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IDU 0.82, betterVPU 0.80
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IDU −24.1%, betterVPU −25.1%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IDU 0.48VPU 0.50; Market = 1

IDU and VPU in the news

All news⁠

ETF Filings
Kayne Anderson files energy and power ETFs as adviser of record
Sep 22, 2026VPU

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IDU vs VPU

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How IDU and VPU differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in IDU

Only in VPU

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Kayne Anderson files energy and power ETFs as adviser of record

How IDU and VPU differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in IDU

Only in VPU

Weight gaps