Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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USO vs VOE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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USO is a commodity futures fund and VOE an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +22.8%.

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Net assets: $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP, and $22.8bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF.

At a glance
+133.3%
USO total return, 1 year
+22.8%
VOE total return, 1 year
0.86%
USO expense ratio
0.05%
VOE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VOE costs 0.81 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 110.5 points.

USO vs VOE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureUSOVOE
Return
Total return, 1 year+133.3%+22.8%
Drawdown
Below its high82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Benchmark
What it tracksOil futuresMorningstar US Mid Cap Value Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.86%0.05%
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VOE as of Sep 30, 2026$1.9bn$22.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight96%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund14.0%

Method

Risk and return

Sep 1, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,051 weekly returns
USO VOE
Return
Total return edge VOE −66.8% +515.4%
Annualized edge VOE −5.3% +9.4%
Price return edge VOE −66.8% +301.7%
Risk
Volatility edge VOE 37.3% 20.4%
Max drawdown edge VOE −98.0% −61.2%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge VOE 0.00 0.46
Sortino edge VOE 0.00 0.65
Calmar edge VOE −0.05 0.15
Reading

VOE returned more: +515.4% to −66.8%. VOE swung less: 20.4% to 37.3%. VOE fell less at its worst: −61.2% to −98.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: USO vs VOE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureUSOVOEEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return−66.8%+515.4%VOEPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized−5.3%+9.4%VOETotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−66.8%+301.7%VOEPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility37.3%20.4%VOESpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation27.0%14.5%VOELike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−98.0%−61.2%VOEDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.000.46VOEReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.000.65VOEReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar−0.050.15VOEAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,051 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

USO United States Oil Fund, LP VOE Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF
Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF
Issuer USCF Vanguard
What it is Holds oil futures Tracks an index of Mid-Cap Value
Total return, 1 year +133.3% +22.8%
Expense ratio 0.86% 0.05%
Holdings not counted 169
Net assets, USO as of Oct 28, 2026 and VOE as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.9bn $22.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-87AD1781D7

USO and VOE do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. USO follows Oil futures and VOE follows Morningstar US Mid Cap Value Index.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 USO returned +133.3% and VOE +22.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 110.5 points.
  3. Cost. USO charges 0.86% of assets a year and VOE 0.05%, a gap of 0.81 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

VOE

VOE tracks an index of Mid-Cap Value. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 169 positions, with the top ten at 14.0%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USO or VOE?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +133.3% and VOE +22.8%.
Which is cheaper, USO or VOE?
VOE is cheaper, by 0.81 percentage points a year. That is about $81 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, USO against VOE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-voe

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