Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VDC vs XLY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VDC returned +12.7% to XLY's −3.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $7.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF, and $22.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLY costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.3 points; XLY is 2.9 times larger.
| Measure | VDC | XLY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.7% | −3.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.1%, high on Oct 22, 2026 | 6.8%, high on Jan 12, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Consumer Staples 25/50 | Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $7.4bn | $21.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 66.0% | 68.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VDC against FSTA, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026; XLY against SPY, Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026.
XLY returned more: +843.9% to +674.3%. VDC swung less: 13.2% to 21.1%. VDC fell less at its worst: −32.7% to −58.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VDC | XLY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +674.3% | +843.9% | XLY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.4% | +10.4% | XLY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +360.8% | +616.3% | XLY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 13.2% | 21.1% | VDC | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 9.4% | 14.3% | VDC | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.7% | −58.4% | VDC | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.4% | 118.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 99.6% | 106.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.10 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.77 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.61 | 0.49 | VDC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.86 | 0.72 | VDC | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.075 | 0.087 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.29 | 0.18 | VDC | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | FSTA | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.1% a year | +0.7% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.27 | 0.34 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.3% to +0.4% | −3.2% to +4.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.04 | 0.14 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.7% | 10.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VDC and XLY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VDC and XLY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VDC and XLY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VDC follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Consumer Staples 25/50 and XLY follows Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VDC returned +12.7% and XLY −3.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.3 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VDC
VDC tracks an index of Consumer Staples. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.7% with distributions reinvested, against +12.7% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Consumer Staples 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 66.0%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Oct 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
XLY
XLY tracks an index of Consumer discretionary. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 48 positions, with the top ten at 68.5%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Jan 12, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VDC or XLY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VDC returned +12.7% and XLY −3.6%.
- Which is cheaper, VDC or XLY?
- XLY is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 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.
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ETFIQ, VDC against XLY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vdc-vs-xly
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VDC against XLY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vdc-vs-xly
[VDC against XLY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vdc-vs-xly)
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