Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) Sharpe Ratio: 1.25

VPU's Sharpe Ratio of 1.25 indicates that for each unit of volatility, it generates 1.25 units of excess return above the risk-free rate. The ratio is calculated using historical daily returns over the past 12 months (as of Apr 2, 2026).

Sharpe uses total volatility (standard deviation) which includes both upside and downside price movements, making it useful for comparing risk-adjusted returns across different assets.

VPU Sharpe Ratio Rank

Above Average

VPU ranks above 68.9% of all investments in our database based on Sharpe Ratio over the past 12 months, indicating above-average returns relative to volatility. Securities are ranked from 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

What moves the rank

Strong returns with low total volatility → Higher rank
High volatility (both upside and downside) → Lower rank
Consistent returns → Higher rank than volatile returns of same magnitude
Sharp drawdowns increase volatility → Lower rank

What you can do with this information

Above-average risk-adjusted returns with room for improvement
Compare against category peers to gauge relative positioning
Monitor for movement toward top tier or decline toward median
Consider pairing with top-tier holdings to improve portfolio efficiency

VPU Sharpe Ratio Market Positioning

The chart shows VPU's Sharpe Ratio relative to all ETFs on our platform, with color zones indicating percentile rankings. Higher ratios indicate better risk-adjusted returns.

Red zone (bottom 25%): 0.49 or lower
Yellow zone (middle 50%): 0.49 to 1.45
Green zone (top 25%): 1.45 or higher
Top 1%: 5.84+
Median: 0.98 — half of all investments score higher

How it compares to other similar ETFs

The table compares Vanguard Utilities ETF's Sharpe Ratio with other ETFs in the Utilities Equities category across multiple time periods, showing how VPU's risk-adjusted performance compares to similar funds.

Data shows 1-, 5-, and 10-year periods, plus each fund's all-time average, as of Apr 2, 2026.

Symbol	Name	1Y Sharpe Ratio
ZAP	Global X U.S. Electrification ETF	2.10
JXI	iShares Global Utilities ETF	2.04
GII	SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF	2.02
ECLN	First Trust EIP Carbon Impact ETF	1.87
PAVE	Global X US Infrastructure Development ETF	1.67
FXU	First Trust Utilities AlphaDEX Fund	1.60
NFRA	FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index Fund	1.39
RSPU	Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETF	1.29
XLU	Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund	1.27
VPU	Vanguard Utilities ETF	1.25

Benchmark Against

Benchmark

S&P 500 Index

Lookback Period

How to choose period

Historical Sharpe Ratio

The chart shows VPU's rolling Sharpe ratio over time compared to your chosen benchmark. Rising trends indicate improving returns relative to total volatility, while declining trends may signal deteriorating risk-adjusted performance or increased volatility. Use multiple timeframes to distinguish short-term fluctuations from long-term patterns.

Identify market cycles by observing when VPU consistently outperforms (line above benchmark), underperforms (below benchmark), or aligns with the benchmark.

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Explore VPU risk-adjusted metrics in detail

Dive deeper into individual metrics with historical trends, benchmark comparisons, and performance across different time periods.

VPU Sortino Ratio