# VPU ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What VPU holds, its 0.09% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns shares of about 70 US utility companies that provide electricity, gas, and water. It charges 0.09% a year. From January 2004 to October 2026 it returned about 9.4% a year, and its worst drop was −46.3%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.09% a year (about $9 on $10,000).
- Started trading on January 26, 2004.
- Last close: $182.41 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: −5.9%.
- Worst drop since 2004: −46.3%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has VPU done since 2004?

From January 2004 to October 2026, VPU returned about 9.4% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 10.8% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $76,341 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | VPU | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | 2.7% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −6.5% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −7.8% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 0.6% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | −5.9% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 15.5% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 8.1% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 9.1% | 15.4% |
| Since 2004, per year | 9.4% | 10.8% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## VPU returns by month and year

VPU rose in 181 of its 273 months (66%). Its best month was March 2021, at 10.3%. Its worst was February 2009, at −12.9%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 1.6% | 9.5% | −3.1% | 2.2% | −4.9% | 2.3% | −2.3% | −4.4% | −5.8% | 6.7% |  |  | 0.6% |
| 2025 | 2.8% | 2.0% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 3.5% | 0.4% | 5.0% | −1.4% | 4.4% | 1.9% | 1.8% | −5.1% | 16.5% |
| 2024 | −3.3% | 1.4% | 7.0% | 1.6% | 8.7% | −5.3% | 6.8% | 4.5% | 6.2% | −1.2% | 4.2% | −8.1% | 23.0% |
| 2023 | −1.6% | −5.7% | 4.5% | 1.5% | −5.6% | 1.4% | 2.4% | −6.3% | −5.6% | 0.8% | 5.1% | 2.4% | −7.4% |
| 2022 | −3.4% | −1.9% | 9.8% | −4.4% | 4.5% | −5.1% | 5.7% | 0.3% | −11.2% | 2.5% | 7.0% | −0.9% | 1.1% |
| 2021 | −1.0% | −5.5% | 10.3% | 3.8% | −2.3% | −1.8% | 3.9% | 3.7% | −6.2% | 5.1% | −1.6% | 9.4% | 17.4% |
| 2020 | 6.1% | −10.0% | −10.1% | 3.2% | 4.3% | −4.9% | 7.2% | −2.5% | 0.6% | 4.9% | 1.4% | 0.9% | −0.7% |
| 2019 | 3.7% | 3.9% | 2.8% | 0.9% | −0.9% | 3.3% | −0.2% | 4.8% | 4.1% | −0.9% | −2.0% | 3.1% | 24.9% |
| 2018 | −3.1% | −4.1% | 4.0% | 2.5% | −0.3% | 2.4% | 1.7% | 1.1% | −0.4% | 1.2% | 3.9% | −4.1% | 4.4% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | 5.0% | −0.1% | 0.7% | 4.0% | −2.4% | 2.6% | 2.9% | −2.5% | 3.9% | 2.9% | −5.9% | 12.4% |
| 2016 | 4.7% | 1.8% | 8.2% | −1.9% | 1.6% | 7.7% | −0.9% | −5.4% | 0.5% | 0.9% | −4.5% | 4.8% | 17.6% |
| 2015 | 2.2% | −5.9% | −0.7% | −0.6% | 0.4% | −6.1% | 5.5% | −3.6% | 2.7% | 1.9% | −2.1% | 2.2% | −4.8% |
| 2014 | 2.8% | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.8% | −0.7% | 4.5% | −7.0% | 5.1% | −2.6% | 8.4% | 0.8% | 2.6% | 25.9% |
| 2013 | 5.2% | 2.3% | 5.5% | 5.6% | −8.2% | 1.0% | 4.4% | −5.3% | 1.4% | 4.0% | −2.1% | 1.2% | 14.9% |
| 2012 | −3.6% | 0.6% | 1.3% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 3.9% | 2.8% | −3.7% | 1.4% | 1.3% | −3.8% | 0.1% | 1.8% |
| 2011 | 1.5% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 3.9% | 1.6% | −0.3% | −1.1% | 1.8% | −0.4% | 4.0% | 1.1% | 3.3% | 19.0% |
| 2010 | −4.5% | −1.0% | 3.0% | 3.0% | −5.9% | −0.8% | 7.3% | 1.0% | 3.3% | 1.3% | −2.4% | 3.2% | 7.1% |
| 2009 | −1.2% | −12.9% | 2.4% | 1.6% | 3.7% | 5.4% | 4.2% | 0.5% | 1.7% | −3.3% | 4.6% | 5.5% | 11.3% |
| 2008 | −7.0% | −3.7% | 0.6% | 5.3% | 3.9% | −1.4% | −6.3% | −0.5% | −11.4% | −11.2% | 2.7% | −1.5% | −28.0% |
| 2007 | −0.1% | 4.6% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 1.0% | −5.1% | −4.2% | 2.9% | 2.8% | 6.5% | −0.3% | 0.1% | 17.0% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | 0.8% | −3.8% | 1.8% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 4.9% | 2.6% | −2.0% | 5.4% | 3.0% | 0.8% | 21.7% |
| 2005 | 1.1% | 2.2% | 1.1% | 2.2% | 1.6% | 5.4% | 2.3% | 0.6% | 3.8% | −6.7% | 0.0% | 0.8% | 14.6% |
| 2004 (part) |  | 1.2% | 1.2% | −3.5% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 4.0% | 1.2% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 2.8% | 20.6% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is VPU compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.45.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, VPU tended to move about 0.45%.
- **Correlation 0.45.** VPU moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, VPU rose 65% as much on average. In months it fell, VPU fell 60% as much.

| Measure | VPU | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 8.3% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 17.1% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −25.1% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.78 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.33 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is VPU above its 200-day average?

VPU closed 3.7% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds VPU only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 4.4% below its 200-day average.
- It closed 9.6% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for VPU](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was VPU's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. VPU's worst fall was −46.3%, from December 10, 2007 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on June 6, 2012. On October 16, 2026 it was 9.6% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −46.3% | Dec 10, 2007 | Mar 9, 2009 | Jun 6, 2012 | 15 months | 3.2 years |
| −36.4% | Feb 18, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | Aug 12, 2021 | 34 days | 17 months |
| −25.1% | Sep 12, 2022 | Oct 2, 2023 | Aug 1, 2024 | 13 months | 10 months |
| −16.2% | Jan 29, 2015 | Sep 4, 2015 | Mar 8, 2016 | 7 months | 6 months |
| −15.6% | Feb 27, 2026 | Sep 28, 2026 | Not yet | 7 months | n/a |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does VPU hold?

This fund owns shares of about 70 US utility companies that provide electricity, gas, and water. It holds only one part of the stock market. Its ten biggest companies make up about half of the fund.

It tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index. It had 68 holdings as of September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard.

| Fact | VPU |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Vanguard Utilities ETF |
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% a year |
| Started trading | January 26, 2004 |
| Tracks | MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index |
| Type | US stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 68 holdings as of September 30, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [Vanguard fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vpu) |

## What is the VPU expense ratio?

VPU charges 0.09% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.09% fee comes to about $9 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 52% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold VPU?

No classic strategy holds VPU yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does VPU compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for VPU:

- [XLU](https://tactfolio.com/etf/XLU.md): State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
- [XLP](https://tactfolio.com/etf/XLP.md): State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
- [VDC](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VDC.md): Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF, 0.09% a year
- [SCHH](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHH.md): Schwab U.S. REIT ETF, 0.07% a year

See [all 7 VPU alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/VPU.md), compared on the same dates as VPU.

## Test VPU in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add VPU, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for VPU and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Vanguard. We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [S&P 500 index](https://tactfolio.com/learn/sp500-index): The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large US companies. Learn how stocks get in, how the index is weighted, how to invest in it, and how far it has fallen before.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of VPU?

VPU charges 0.09% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 17, 2026. That is about $9 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did VPU start trading?

VPU started trading on January 26, 2004. It is run by Vanguard.

### What does VPU track?

VPU tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Utilities 25/50 Index. This fund owns shares of about 70 US utility companies that provide electricity, gas, and water.

### How much has VPU returned per year?

From January 2004 to October 2026, VPU returned about 9.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −46.3%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is VPU above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, VPU closed 3.7% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use VPU?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold VPU yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [Vanguard: Vanguard Utilities ETF fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vpu)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.