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

Launched on January 26, 2004, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares (VDC) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Consumer Staples - Broad segment of the equity market.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also 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. Consumer Staples - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 16, placing it in bottom 0%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $8.04 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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

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 Consumer Staples sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.

The top 10 holdings account for about 59.55% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Fund ETF Shares has gained about 11.59% so far, and is up roughly 7.54% over the last 12 months (as of 08/17/2026). VDC has traded between $206.7 and $244.19 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.50 and standard deviation of 12.36% 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 holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VDC is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Consumer Staples ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA) tracks MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index and the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) tracks Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF has $1.44 billion in assets, State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has $15.51 billion. FSTA has an expense ratio of 0.08%, 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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