Vanguard's Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) grew $1,000 to $1,360 over five years, versus $1,324 in State Street's XLP. XLP had a 2.7% trailing yield and 0.08% expense ratio, compared with VDC's 2.2% yield and 0.09% fee.
XLP tracks U.S. consumer-staples companies in the S&P 500 and holds 35 stocks; VDC holds 103 companies across the industry, from small- to large-cap stocks. Walmart, Costco and Coca-Cola are the top three holdings in both funds. Together, they make up 26.9% of XLP and 35.04% of VDC.
For the 12 months through Sept. 18, 2026, XLP returned 7%, compared with 5% for VDC. Their five-year maximum drawdowns were similar: 16.3% for XLP and 16.5% for VDC.
