Which returned more over the last year, VCLT or VPU?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCLT returned −4.8% and VPU returned +2.1%, so VPU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, VCLT or VPU?

VCLT charges 0.03% a year and VPU charges 0.09%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

VCLT vs VPU: how they differ

VCLT and VPU hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VPU returned more over the year.

Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund and Vanguard Utilities Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, VCLT and VPU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in VCLT	Only in VPU
Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch 0.38%	NextEra Energy Inc 11.84%
CVS Health Corp 0.34%	Southern Co/The 6.70%
Meta Platforms Inc 0.29%	Duke Energy Corp 6.31%
Boeing Co/The 0.27%	Constellation Energy Corp 5.86%
Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd 0.27%	American Electric Power Co Inc 4.47%
Amazon.com Inc 0.26%	Sempra 3.85%
Oracle Corp 0.24%	Dominion Energy Inc 3.78%
AT&T Inc 0.24%	Vistra Corp 3.59%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026.

VCLT and VPU on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund	VPU Vanguard Utilities Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	Vanguard	Vanguard
What it is	Long-Term Corporate Bond	Utilities
Total return, 1 year	−4.8%	+2.1%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−22.3 pts	−15.4 pts
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.09%
Holdings	2775	66

VCLT in plain words

VCLT is a bond fund tracking the Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 18.1% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.

VPU in plain words

VPU is an index equity fund tracking the Utilities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 66 positions, with the top ten at 52.7%. It sat 9.8% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, VCLT or VPU?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCLT returned −4.8% and VPU returned +2.1%, so VPU returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, VCLT or VPU?: VCLT charges 0.03% a year and VPU charges 0.09%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

VCLT against VPU, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, VCLT against VPU, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/VCLT-VPU Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources