Should You Invest in the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC)?

Looking for broad exposure to the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Consumer Staples - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 14, placing it in bottom 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $7.28 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market. VDC seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index measures the investment return of stocks in the consumer staples sector.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Staples sector--about 99.90% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) accounts for about 13.15% of total assets, followed by Walmart Inc (WMT) and Procter & Gamble Co/the (PG).

The top 10 holdings account for about 63.88% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 4.07% and is up about 9.76% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/01/2025), respectively. VDC has traded between $194.57 and $226.16 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.60 and standard deviation of 13.04% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 105 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, VDC is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

IShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF (IYK) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Index and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. IShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF has $1.53 billion in assets, Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $16.77 billion. IYK has an expense ratio of 0.40% and XLP charges 0.08%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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