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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +10.8% and VPU −3.3%.

Which is cheaper, USMV or VPU?

VPU is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do USMV and VPU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 93% of USMV and 90% of VPU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

USMV vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USMV returned +10.8% to VPU's −3.3%; 7% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $24.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF, and $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF.

USMV on its own →VPU on its own →

At a glance

+10.8%

USMV total return, 1 year

−3.3%

VPU total return, 1 year

0.15%

USMV expense ratio

0.09%

VPU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VPU costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.1 points; USMV is 3.0 times larger.

USMV vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	USMV	VPU
Return
Measure	USMV	VPU
Total return, 1 year	+10.8%	−3.3%
Drawdown
Measure	USMV	VPU
Below its high		8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	USMV	VPU
What it tracks	MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index	MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50
Cost and size
Measure	USMV	VPU
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$23.2bn	$7.7bn
Holdings
Measure	USMV	VPU
Holdings in common	7%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.8%	52.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, USMV and VPU hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first USMV VPU

DUKE ENERGY CORP 1.38% 6.41%

SOUTHERN 1.35% 6.74%

CONSOLIDATED EDISON 1.25% 2.72%

WEC ENERGY GROUP 0.80% 2.37%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER INC 0.48% 4.66%

XCEL ENERGY INC 0.47% 3.17%

AMEREN 0.26% 1.98%

DOMINION ENERGY 0.24% 3.84%

CMS ENERGY 0.18% 1.41%

NEXTERA ENERGY 0.10% 11.39%

ATMOS ENERGY 0.06% 1.88%

AMERICAN WATER WORKS 0.05% 1.71%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in USMV

MICROSOFT 1.61%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.54%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.50%

CHUBB 1.50%

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC 1.48%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.47%

NVIDIA 1.47%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.44%

Only in VPU

Constellation Energy Corp 5.72%

Sempra 3.68%

Vistra Corp 3.37%

Entergy Corp 3.34%

Exelon Corp 2.98%

Public Service Enterprise Group Inc 2.42%

PG&E Corp 1.95%

DTE Energy Co 1.83%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +10.8% −3.3%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured −3.3% (FUTY)

Gap to its benchmark not measured 0.0 pts vs FUTY

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 93.0% 89.7%

Holdings 176 70

Net assets, USMV as of Oct 27, 2026 and VPU as of Sep 30, 2026 $24.1bn $7.7bn

USMV and VPU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

USMV

USMV tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% 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 176 positions, with the top ten at 14.8%.

VPU

VPU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.3% with distributions reinvested, against −3.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 70 positions, with the top ten at 52.3%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USMV or VPU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +10.8% and VPU −3.3%.
Which is cheaper, USMV or VPU?: VPU is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do USMV and VPU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 93% of USMV and 90% of VPU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

USMV vs XLU USMV vs VOX USMV vs VDE KRE vs USMV GRNY vs VPU CGGR vs VPU DFUS vs VPU MTUM vs VPU

Where to next

USMV on its own →VPU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →USMV dividend history →USMV holdings →VPU dividend history →VPU holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

USMV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

USMV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for USMV ↗

VPU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VPU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VPU ↗

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, USMV against VPU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/usmv-vs-vpu

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