Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IDU vs UTES: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IDU returned −1.9% to UTES's −8.9%; 41% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Utilities ETF, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF.
Pair scorecard
IDU costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.0 points.
| Measure | IDU | UTES |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −1.9% | −8.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.5%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | 12.2%, high on Oct 15, 2025 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 1000 Utilities RIC 22 | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.49% |
| Net assets, IDU as of Oct 28, 2026 and UTES as of Jul 31, 2026 | $1.4bn | $1.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 41% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 52.2% | 69.0% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 2, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 577 weekly returnsUTES returned more: +274.1% to +173.5%. IDU swung slightly less: 18.5% to 19.8%. IDU and UTES fell about the same at their worst: −32.2% and −31.9%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IDU | UTES | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +173.5% | +274.1% | UTES | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.5% | +12.6% | UTES | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +101.9% | +191.8% | UTES | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.5% | 19.8% | IDU (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.8% | 13.6% | IDU (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.2% | −31.9% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.46 | 0.58 | UTES | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.66 | 0.85 | UTES | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.30 | 0.40 | UTES | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 577 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IDU and UTES hold 41% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
41% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IDU and UTES on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IDU and UTES are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IDU follows Russell 1000 Utilities RIC 22 and UTES follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 41% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IDU returned −1.9% and UTES −8.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IDU
IDU tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 47 positions, with the top ten at 52.2%. It sat 8.5% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
UTES
UTES is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −8.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 18 positions, with the top ten at 69.0%. It sat 12.2% below its high of Oct 15, 2025 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IDU or UTES?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDU returned −1.9% and UTES −8.9%.
- Which is cheaper, IDU or UTES?
- IDU is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IDU against UTES, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idu-vs-utes
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IDU against UTES. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idu-vs-utes
[IDU against UTES (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idu-vs-utes)
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