The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC 0.13%) maintains a significantly larger pool of assets under management (AUM) and a longer track record, while the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA 0.06%) offers a slightly lower expense ratio.
Investors looking for defensive equity positions often gravitate toward the consumer staples sector, which focuses on non-discretionary goods like food and household supplies. This comparison examines two popular options that offer exposure to these relatively stable companies during periods of broader market uncertainty.
Snapshot (cost & size)
| Metric | FSTA | VDC |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Fidelity | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.09% |
| 1-yr return (as of June 3, 2026) | 1.00% | 1.20% |
| Dividend yield | 2.30% | 2.20% |
| Beta | 0.50 | 0.50 |
| AUM | $1.4 billion | $9.5 billion |
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.
The Fidelity fund provides a marginally more affordable entry point with an expense ratio of 0.08% compared to 0.09% for the Vanguard fund. Additionally, the Fidelity fund offers a slightly higher distribution yield, leading to a gap of 0.08 percentage points between the two products.
Performance & risk comparison
| Metric | FSTA | VDC |
|---|---|---|
| Max drawdown (5 yr) | (16.60%) | (16.50%) |
| Growth of $1,000 over 5 years (total return) | $1,337 | $1,342 |
NYSEMKT: FSTA
Key Data Points
What's inside
The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC 0.13%) focuses heavily on consumer defensive stocks, which make up 98% of the fund. It currently holds 103 positions and was launched in 2004. Its largest holdings include Walmart (WMT +0.82%) at 16.15%, Costco Wholesale (COST +0.36%) at 12.26%, and Procter & Gamble (PG 0.80%) at 9.12%. Over the trailing 12 months, the fund paid $4.82 per share in dividends.
In comparison, the Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (FSTA 0.06%) tracks a similar path with 97% of its portfolio in the consumer defensive sector across 104 holdings. Launched in 2013, its top positions also feature Walmart at 14.49%, Costco Wholesale at 11.82%, and Procter & Gamble at 8.57%. The Fidelity fund has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.16 per share.
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NYSEMKT: VDC
Key Data Points
What this means for investors
The businesses selling groceries, household products, and everyday essentials have a quality that most sectors can only dream about: People keep buying their products regardless of what the economy is doing. Walmart, Costco, and Procter & Gamble don't need a bull market to sell toilet paper and toothpaste. That reliability makes consumer staples one of the most dependable defensive allocations available to long-term investors, and particularly valuable during periods of economic uncertainty like the one investors are navigating in 2026.
VDC and FSTA are so similar that choosing between them is genuinely one of the easier decisions in the ETF universe. Both funds hold essentially the same stocks in similar proportions and carry nearly identical risk profiles. The fee difference between them amounts to roughly one dollar per year on a $10,000 investment, making it essentially irrelevant to the long-term outcome.
What does matter is which brokerage platform you already use. Vanguard investors can trade VDC commission-free and without friction. Fidelity investors get the same advantage with FSTA. Paying trading fees to buy either fund on the wrong platform would quickly erase the already-tiny cost difference between them.
