Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
UTES vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, UTES returned −8.9% to VPU's −3.3%; 43% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about UTES and VPU
Net assets: $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF, and $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF.
Pair scorecard
VPU costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points.
| Measure | UTES | VPU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −8.9% | −3.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 12.2%, high on Oct 15, 2025 | 8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, UTES as of Jul 31, 2026 and VPU as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.3bn | $7.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 43% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 69.0% | 52.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 2, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 577 weekly returnsUTES returned more: +274.1% to +177.5%. VPU swung slightly less: 18.7% to 19.8%. UTES and VPU fell about the same at their worst: −31.9% and −32.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | UTES | VPU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +274.1% | +177.5% | UTES | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +12.6% | +9.6% | UTES | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +191.8% | +97.2% | UTES | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.8% | 18.7% | VPU (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.6% | 12.9% | VPU (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −31.9% | −32.4% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.58 | 0.46 | UTES | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.85 | 0.67 | UTES | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.40 | 0.30 | 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, UTES and VPU hold 43% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.
half
43% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
UTES and VPU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
UTES and VPU are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. UTES follows No index, actively managed and VPU follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 43% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 UTES returned −8.9% and VPU −3.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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.
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, UTES or VPU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, UTES returned −8.9% and VPU −3.3%.
- Which is cheaper, UTES or VPU?
- VPU is cheaper, by 0.40 percentage points a year. That is about $40 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, UTES against VPU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/utes-vs-vpu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). UTES against VPU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/utes-vs-vpu
[UTES against VPU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/utes-vs-vpu)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.