Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VDE vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VDE returned +58.8% to VPU's −3.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $10.4bn for Vanguard Energy ETF and $7.7bn for Vanguard Utilities ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.09% a year; their one-year returns differ by 62.1 points; VDE is 1.4 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | VDE | VPU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +58.8% | −3.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50 | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $10.4bn | $7.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 67.1% | 52.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 8, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,150 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VDE against FENY, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026; VPU against FUTY, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
VPU returned more: +607.7% to +538.7%. VPU swung less: 17.7% to 28.1%. VPU fell less at its worst: −44.9% to −72.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VDE | VPU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +538.7% | +607.7% | VPU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.7% | +9.3% | VPU (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +269.6% | +237.0% | VDE | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 28.1% | 17.7% | VPU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 20.1% | 12.6% | VPU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −72.2% | −44.9% | VPU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 100.8% | 100.2% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.1% | 100.1% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.01 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.38 | 0.49 | VPU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.53 | 0.68 | VPU | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.088 | 0.087 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.12 | 0.21 | VPU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | FENY | FUTY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.1% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.48 | −0.21 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.6% | −0.4% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.19 | 0.00 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.9% | 0.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,150 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VDE and VPU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VDE and VPU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VDE and VPU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VDE follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50 and VPU follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VDE returned +58.8% and VPU −3.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 62.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VDE
VDE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +58.8% with distributions reinvested, against +59.0% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 81% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 113 positions, with the top ten at 67.1%.
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. 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
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, VDE against VPU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vde-vs-vpu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VDE against VPU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vde-vs-vpu
[VDE against VPU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vde-vs-vpu)
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