Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VPU vs XLI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VPU returned −3.3% to XLI's +10.2%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF, and $30.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLI costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.5 points; XLI is 3.9 times larger.
| Measure | VPU | XLI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.3% | +10.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | 9.4%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50 | Industrial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $7.7bn | $29.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 52.3% | 37.8% |
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: VPU against FUTY, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026; XLI against SPY, Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026.
XLI returned more: +830.8% to +683.7%. VPU swung less: 17.6% to 20.1%. VPU fell less at its worst: −44.9% to −61.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VPU | XLI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +683.7% | +830.8% | XLI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.5% | +10.3% | XLI (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +273.2% | +507.0% | XLI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.6% | 20.1% | VPU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.5% | 14.0% | VPU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.9% | −61.6% | VPU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 100.2% | 105.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.1% | 102.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.03 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.79 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.50 | 0.50 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.70 | 0.72 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.087 | 0.087 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.21 | 0.17 | VPU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | FUTY | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | +0.6% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.21 | 0.35 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.3% | −2.9% to +4.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.00 | 0.10 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.6% | 9.4% | 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, VPU and XLI 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
VPU and XLI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VPU and XLI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VPU follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50 and XLI follows Industrial 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 VPU returned −3.3% and XLI +10.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
XLI
XLI tracks an index of Industrials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.2% 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 84 positions, with the top ten at 37.8%. It sat 9.4% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VPU or XLI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VPU returned −3.3% and XLI +10.2%.
- Which is cheaper, VPU or XLI?
- XLI 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, VPU against XLI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vpu-vs-xli
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VPU against XLI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vpu-vs-xli
[VPU against XLI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vpu-vs-xli)
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