Looking for broad exposure to the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on January 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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways 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 $8.01 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 least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.06%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, 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 99.9% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Walmart Inc (WMT) accounts for about 13.34% of total assets, followed by Costco Wholesale Corp (COST) and Coca-cola Co/the (KO).The top 10 holdings account for about 59.83% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares has gained about 14.13% so far, and is up about 12.81% over the last 12 months (as of 10/19/2026). VDC has traded between $206.7 and $244.19 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.49 and standard deviation of 12.51% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 106 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares 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 sufficient 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 State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. iShares U.S. Consumer Staples ETF has $1.63 billion in assets, State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $14.60 billion. IYK has an expense ratio of 0.37%, 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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Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).