Looking for broad exposure to the Energy - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 23, 2004.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Energy - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 13, placing it in bottom 19%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $7.01 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Energy - Broad segment of the equity market. VDE seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Energy 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50 is made up of stocks of large, mid-size, and small U.S. companies within the energy sector.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.15%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Energy sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) accounts for about 22.89% of total assets, followed by Chevron Corp (CVX) and Conocophillips (COP).
The top 10 holdings account for about 66.53% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 3.07% so far this year and is down about 2.52% in the last one year (as of 10/15/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $105.87 and $136.78.
The ETF has a beta of 0.77 and standard deviation of 22.71% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 113 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Energy 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, VDE is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Energy ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
iShares Global Energy ETF (IXC) tracks S&P Global 1200 Energy Sector Index and the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) tracks Energy Select Sector Index. iShares Global Energy ETF has $1.78 billion in assets, Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF has $25.77 billion. IXC has an expense ratio of 0.4%, and XLE 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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Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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