Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF

Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) is an index fund that tracks an MSCI index of U.S. consumer staples stocks. It holds 103 companies that make or sell everyday goods such as food, drinks, household products and tobacco. Its 0.09% yearly cost is well below the 0.40% average of similar funds, though FSTA and XLP charge slightly less. It is also concentrated: Walmart (12.8%) and Costco (11.4%) were its largest holdings as of August 31, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, VDC returned +12.2%, 4th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.6%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-1.8%); its best was 2021 (+17.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 16.6% (Apr 20, 2022 to Oct 7, 2022), recovered by Mar 5, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 103 securities; the ten largest made up 61.48% of assets.

By sector

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $203.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.39%, +2.05%, -0.36%.

VDC tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Consumer Staples 25/50. The index holds large, mid-size and small U.S. companies that the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a widely used system for sorting companies by business type, places in consumer staples. That group includes makers of food, beverages, tobacco, household goods and personal products, plus food and drug retailers and supercenters. Their sales tend to depend less on the economic cycle. The "25/50" in the index name refers to rules that cap how much weight the largest companies can carry.

Vanguard aims to replicate the index by holding all, or nearly all, of its stocks in about the same proportions as the index. Large companies therefore make up most of the fund. As of August 31, 2026, the 10 largest holdings were 61.5% of assets. They were led by Walmart, Costco, Coca-Cola (8.7%) and Procter & Gamble (8.6%). Trading is light: portfolio turnover was 9%, according to the prospectus.

The fund is "nondiversified" under the Investment Company Act of 1940. That means it can put more of its money into a few companies than a diversified fund can. VDC is the exchange-traded share class of Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund. The fund's $9.25 billion in net assets as of August 31, 2026, covers all of its share classes, not just the ETF.

• VDC charges 0.09% a year, versus an average of 0.4% for the similar funds below (3rd of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.08% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $9 in the first year and $115 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its companies sell everyday necessities, and its deepest drop in the available price history was 16.6%, though it is still a stock fund that can lose value.

VDC could add a steadier group of stocks to a portfolio. The price history used here begins in June 2020, so it misses the 2008 crisis and the COVID crash. The prospectus does show a 14.12% drop in the first quarter of 2020 and a 10.92% gain for that full year. In the 2022 bear market, VDC fell 16.6% between April and October 2022 and took about 17 months to recover, in March 2024. Its worst calendar year in the prospectus, which covers 2018 to 2024, was 2018, with a 7.72% loss. Selling shares in a slump like that would lock in losses. The trailing yield was 2.06% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, costs come to $9 in the first year on a $10,000 investment. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.