VPU — Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares

VPU Price Performance — Growth of $10,000

Value of a $10,000 investment in VPU over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.

VPU Drawdown

The "underwater" chart: VPU's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.

Overview

The Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares (VPU) is a utilities-sector fund issued by Vanguard with $9.47 billion in assets under management. It holds an ETFValuer grade of C, reflecting a score of 53.4 out of 100, and ranks second among five funds in its category. The fund’s expense ratio of 0.09% matches the category median, while its dividend yield of 2.92% sits slightly above the median of 2.88%. Top ten holdings comprise 52.5% of assets, with NextEra Energy Inc representing the largest single position at 11.8%. Overall, it ranks 340 out of 458 tracked ETFs across all categories.

The fund’s price of $178.17 places it at 24.0% of its 52-week range, indicating a position closer to the lower end of recent trading levels. Short-term performance shows a 1.0% daily decline and a 4.19% weekly gain, contrasting with a 4.60% monthly loss. Over longer horizons, the three-year return of 53.74% diverges significantly from the recent one-year return of -5.95%, which trails the category median of -5.71%. The ETFValuer grade has remained unchanged at C for the last 35 tracked days. Historical data is available for only 3.0 years, limiting the depth of long-term trend analysis.

With a beta of 0.42, the fund has exhibited lower sensitivity to market movements compared to the broader market. Annualized volatility stands at 15.16%, labeled as moderate, while the maximum drawdown of -15.58% indicates the peak-to-trough decline during the measured period. The Sharpe ratio of -0.72 suggests that risk-adjusted returns have been negative over the calculation window. Liquidity is supported by an average daily volume of 320,395 shares. These metrics collectively describe a fund that has experienced negative risk-adjusted performance despite moderate volatility levels.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

VPU Top Holdings

Holdings as of 2026-05-31 per the fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing. Top 10 holdings make up 52.5% of net assets — a rough gauge of concentration risk (the higher this figure, the more the fund's return depends on a handful of names). To see how VPU's holdings overlap with other ETFs you own or are considering, check the Stock Overlap tool.

Which Funds Overlap With VPU

Holding two funds that own the same companies adds cost and complexity without adding much diversification. These tracked ETFs share the most names with VPU's top 10 — XLU overlaps most, holding 10 of the same companies as VPU's top 10 (52.5% of VPU's assets).

Compares the top 10 reported holdings of each fund, so it's a floor on true overlap — two S&P 500 trackers overlap ~100% even when only 10 names are listed. Use the Stock Overlap tool to search by individual company.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 5.27% (as of 2026-10-06) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 15.01 (as of 2026-10-06) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.

Federal Funds Rate: 3.75% (as of 2026-09-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

VPU Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Average daily volume is 320K/day. Higher volume and a larger fund generally mean lower round-trip trading costs. AUM of $9.47B provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.

Domicile & tax treatment: VPU is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.

VPU Performance History

How VPU Compares to Other Utilities ETFs