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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VPU returned +2.1% and VUSB returned +3.7%, so VUSB returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, VPU or VUSB?

VPU charges 0.09% a year and VUSB charges 0.10%, so VPU 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

VPU vs VUSB: how they differ

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

Vanguard Utilities Index Fund and Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, VPU and VUSB 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 VPU	Only in VUSB
NextEra Energy Inc 11.84%	United States Treasury Bill 4.24%
Southern Co/The 6.70%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.68%
Duke Energy Corp 6.31%	PNC Financial Services Group Inc/The 0.59%
Constellation Energy Corp 5.86%	United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.53%
American Electric Power Co Inc 4.47%	Regions Bank/Birmingham AL 0.52%
Sempra 3.85%	US Bancorp 0.51%
Dominion Energy Inc 3.78%	Charles Schwab Corp/The 0.50%
Vistra Corp 3.59%	Truist Bank 0.45%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.

VPU and VUSB on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	VPU Vanguard Utilities Index Fund	VUSB Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	Vanguard	Vanguard
What it is	Utilities	Ultra-Short Bond
Total return, 1 year	+2.1%	+3.7%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−15.4 pts	−13.8 pts
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.10%
Holdings	66	1281

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.

VUSB in plain words

VUSB is a cash and treasury bills tracking the Ultra-Short Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +3.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, VPU or VUSB?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VPU returned +2.1% and VUSB returned +3.7%, so VUSB returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, VPU or VUSB?: VPU charges 0.09% a year and VUSB charges 0.10%, so VPU 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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources