This Vanguard ETF offers exposure to the domestic utilities sector, a corner of the U.S. market that has historically exhibited low volatility and often features an attractive distribution yield. As a sector-specific ETF, VPU is probably more appealing to investors looking to establish a shorter-term tactical tilt or make a sector rotation play than it is to those building a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio (though utilities generally receive a relatively small weight in broad-based equity ETFs, meaning that a complementary holding could result in more balanced sector weightings).
Like most Vanguard ETFs, VPU is among the cheapest options available for investors seeking exposure to the asset class represented (XLU and FUI are also low cost options for utilities exposure). This ETF may be available for commission free trading in Vanguard accounts, potentially increasing the appeal to cost conscious investors. Another noteworthy element of this ETF is the impressive depth of holdings; VPU has considerably more individual stocks than XLU. This ETF does a relatively good job of offering up balanced exposure; though a few stocks account for significant chunks of assets, the concentration is not as significant as in some other products (those seeking to avoid cap-weighting might prefer RYU as a tool for achieving access to the utilities sector).
| Segment | Equity: U.S. Utilities |
| Category | Sector |
| Focus | Utilities |
| Niche | Broad-based |
| Strategy | Vanilla |
| Weighting Scheme | Market Cap |
This section compares how balanced and deep this ETF is relative to its peers.
| VPU | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Holdings | 70 | 67 | 43 |
| % of Assets in Top 10 | 50.74% | 41.57% | 48.48% |
| % of Assets in Top 15 | 64.75% | 55.54% | 64.82% |
| % of Assets in Top 50 | 97.79% | 91.27% | 99.47% |
| VPU | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large (>12.9B) | 89.08% | 71.78% | 87.85% |
| Mid (>2.7B) | 10.08% | 23.10% | 11.84% |
| Small (>600M) | 0.62% | 3.88% | 0.16% |
| Micro (<600M) | 0.10% | 0.69% | 0.02% |
This section compares the P/E ratio of this ETF to its peers.
This section compares the dividend yield of this ETF to its peers.
| VPU | ETF Database Category Average | FactSet Segment Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend | $ 1.23 | $ 0.43 | $ 0.49 |
| Dividend Date | 2025-03-25 | N/A | N/A |
| Annual Dividend Rate | $ 5.06 | $ 1.41 | $ 1.95 |
| Annual Dividend Yield | 2.98% | 2.33% | 2.44% |
View charts featuring VPU price and volume data.
View charts featuring ETF fund flow data.
5 Day Net Flows: 4.25 M 1 Month Net Flows: -69.22 M 3 Month Net Flows: -93.84 M 6 Month Net Flows: 65.45 M 1 Year Net Flows: 479.1 M 3 Year Net Flows: -23.92 M 5 Year Net Flows: 1.34 B 10 Year Net Flows: 2.8 BView charts that break down the influence that fund flows and price had on overall assets.
5 Day Net AUM Change: 110.4 MThe adjacent table gives investors an individual Realtime Rating for VPU on several different metrics, including liquidity, expenses, performance, volatility, dividend, concentration of holdings in addition to an overall rating. The "A+ Metric Rated ETF" field, available to ETF Database Pro members, shows the ETF in the Utilities Equities with the highest Metric Realtime Rating for each individual field. To view all of this data, sign up for a free 14-day trial for ETF Database Pro. To view information on how the ETF Database Realtime Ratings work, click here.
This section compares the cost efficiency of this ETF to its peers.
| Max ST Capital Gains Rate | 39.60% |
| Max LT Capital Gains Rate | 20.00% |
| Tax On Distributions | Qualified dividends |
| Distributes K1 | No |
This section shows how this ETF has performed relative to its peers. Returns over 1 year are annualized.
| VPU |
ETF Database
Category Average |
Factset Segment
Average |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month Return | -3.28% | -3.18% | -3.20% |
| 3 Month Return | -2.44% | -2.88% | -2.43% |
| YTD Return | 1.59% | 0.67% | 1.66% |
| 1 Year Return | 20.03% | 16.23% | 20.20% |
| 3 Year Return | 2.94% | 3.74% | 4.10% |
| 5 Year Return | 8.71% | 9.62% | 8.75% |
The following charts reflect the geographic spread of VPU's underlying holdings.
| Region | Percentage |
|---|---|
| North, Central and South America | 99.55% |
| Other | 0.43% |
| Country | Percentage |
|---|---|
| United States | 99.55% |
| Other | 0.43% |
The following charts reflect the allocation of VPU's underlying holdings.
| Sector | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Utilities | 98.45% |
| Distribution Services | 0.53% |
| Energy Minerals | 0.51% |
| CASH | 0.43% |
| Producer Manufacturing | 0.05% |
| Process Industries | 0.01% |
| Market Cap | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Large | 89.08% |
| Mid | 10.08% |
| Small | 0.62% |
| Micro | 0.1% |
| Region | Percentage |
|---|
| Asset | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Share/Common/Ordinary | 99.55% |
| CASH | 0.43% |
| Sector | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Utilities | 98.45% |
| Distribution Services | 0.53% |
| Energy Minerals | 0.51% |
| CASH | 0.43% |
| Producer Manufacturing | 0.05% |
| Process Industries | 0.01% |
This section shows how the volatility of this ETF compares to the peer group ETF Database Category.
| 5 Day Volatility | 100.77% |
| 20 Day Volatility | 28.78% |
| 50 Day Volatility | 21.69% |
| 200 Day Volatility | 19.31% |
| Beta | 0.54 |
| Standard Deviation | 9.91% |
ETF Database's Financial Advisor Reports are designed as an easy handout for clients to explain the key information on a fund. Includes new analyst insights and classification data.
Fact sheets are issued by the ETF provider and framed by ETF Database. Information contained within the fact sheet is not guaranteed to be timely or accurate.
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