VPU bid-ask spread and liquidity

Vanguard Utilities ETF
StocksVanguard$7.7bn net assets0.09% fee
Share

As of Oct 22, 2026, VPU closed −0.01% from its NAV, and on 95% of the 6 days to then it was within ±0.03%.

Ask IQ about this page

Ask IQ about VPU bid-ask spread and liquidity

Answers cite the figures on this page.

OverviewHoldingsDividendsTradingFlowsCompare

IQ Liquidity Score

2 of 6 measured · Oct 22, 2026
·
Not scored
0 · Hard to trade100 · Trades like a giant

The IQ Liquidity Score: a fixed 0 to 100 scale of trading conditions, the same anchors for every fund; 100 is the easiest to trade. It measures how cheaply and reliably the fund trades, not whether to own it. Method →

Cost to trade
Not measured · the issuer's 30-day median spread is not read for this fund
·
Capacity
Holdings can absorb $642m a day, Oct 22, 2026
93.6
Price fidelity
Not measured · 6 days of closing premium are held, under the 20 needed
·
Primary market
12 active dealers of 34; largest 31% of creations and redemptions, N-CEN to Aug 31, 2025
100.0
Bad-day behaviour
Not measured · 0 of the 10 worst days and 6 other days are held, under the 5 and 60 needed
·
Depth
Not measured · needs trade and quote data (Phase 2)
·

Premium or discount to value

Daily, 6 days to Oct 22, 2026 · the ±1% band marked
VPU premium or discount to NAV, 6 days+1%0−1%Sep 11, 2026Oct 22, 2026
Latest close, Oct 22
−0.01%
95% of days within
±0.03%
Days more than 1% from NAV
0 of 6
Widest
+0.03%, Oct 21, 2026

Close against the NAV its issuer struck the same day, from the issuer. Source: ETFIQ.

Capacity

What the holdings can absorb a day, at 10% of each one’s volume
Holdings can absorb
$642m

VPU’s holdings can absorb $642m a day, measured on its own holdings, as of Oct 22, 2026. A $1m order is 0.16% of a day’s capacity.

The holding that sets the limit: Dominion Energy Inc (D), 3.84% of the fund, $248m a day traded, the median of 20 days to Oct 22, 2026. Capacity is the least of the holding-level ratios over the holdings making up 95% of the weight.

Dealers

Authorized participants · N-CEN, the year to Aug 31, 2025
Active dealers
12
of 34 authorized
Largest
31%
of creations and redemptions
One dealer
No
12 active

12 of 34 authorized participants created or redeemed VPU shares in the year to Aug 31, 2025. From the fund’s Form N-CEN, filed Nov 12, 2025.

The active authorized participants, largest first, by share of the dollars created and redeemed: Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (31.2%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (17.3%), RBC Capital Markets, LLC (15.9%), Citadel Securities LLC (11.1%), Virtu Americas LLC (7.6%), HRT Financial LP (5.5%), Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (2.9%), Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC (2.1%), ABN AMRO Clearing USA LLC (2.1%), BNP Paribas Securities Corp. (1.9%), Barclays Capital Inc. (1.8%), Jefferies LLC (0.5%). 22 more were listed and created or redeemed nothing.

How to trade VPU

To buy or to sell, up to $100,000
When
ETF spreads are usually widest in the first minutes after the open and the last before the close.
Size
Up to $6m is 1% of what its holdings can absorb in a day, for a buy or a sell.
Watch
The premium. On 95% of days it is within ±0.03%; beyond that a buyer pays more, and a seller gets less, than the holdings are worth.
Phase 2 · drawn now, filled when trade data arrives
Spread through the dayComing with trade data

Median spread by half hour, 30 days.

Buyers against sellersComing with trade data

Share of volume at the ask against at the bid.

Retail flow, estimatedComing with trade data

Sub-penny prints as a share of volume.

Large tradesComing with trade data

Prints above $500k, count and share.

Closing auctionComing with trade data

Share of the day’s volume at the close.

Questions people ask

Does VPU trade at a premium or discount to NAV?

It closed −0.01% from its NAV on Oct 22, 2026. On 95% of the 6 days to then it was within ±0.03%, and it closed more than 1% from NAV on 0 of them.

Who is the AP for VPU?

VPU’s latest Form N-CEN, for the period ending Aug 31, 2025, lists 34 authorized participants (APs), and 12 created or redeemed shares. The largest were Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. (31.2%), Jane Street Capital, LLC (17.3%), RBC Capital Markets, LLC (15.9%) of the dollars its APs created and redeemed.

Who is the LMM for VPU?

VPU’s lead market maker (LMM) on NYSE Arca is Latour Trading LLC. Lead market maker per NYSE Arca, as of Oct 23, 2026.
Sources and dates
Premium to NAVETFIQ, close against the issuer’s NAV · Sep 11, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026
CapacityETFIQ, each holding’s 20-day median dollar volume · to Oct 22, 2026
DealersForm N-CEN · the year to Aug 31, 2025
Where to next
ETF trading costs and liquidity→Cost-to-trade checker→Why low volume does not mean illiquidguide →Limit orders vs market orders for ETFsguide →How the IQ Liquidity Score is builtmethod →VPU fund page→
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, VPU trading: cost, capacity, premium and dealers, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/vpu/trading/

Open data →

The score measures trading conditions, not the fund. ETFIQ makes no recommendations.