-
VDC charges a much lower expense ratio and holds over 100 stocks, while RSPS is more expensive and more concentrated.
-
VDC delivered slightly better year-over-year returns, with a narrower historical decline.
-
Both funds focus on consumer staples, but RSPS also weights stocks while VDC is weighted by market cap, leading to different top holdings and sector orientations.
-
These 10 stocks could be the next wave of millionaires ›
THE Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:VDC) offers lower costs, wider diversification and slightly better recent performance, while the Invesco S&P 500 Equal-Weight Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEMKT:RSPS) takes a more focused and equally weighted approach within the sector.
Both VDC and RSPS provide exposure to U.S. consumer staples stocks, attracting investors looking for defensive sector coverage. VDC tracks a broad market-cap-weighted index, while RSPS uses an equal-weighted strategy focused on constituents of the S&P 500. Here’s how they compare in terms of cost, risk, performance, and portfolio composition.
|
Metric
|
RSPS
|
VCC
|
|
Issuer
|
I invest
|
Avant-garde
|
|
Spending rate
|
0.40%
|
0.09%
|
|
Return over 1 year (as of December 17, 2025)
|
(3.2%)
|
0.05%
|
|
Dividend yield
|
2.7%
|
2.2%
|
|
Beta
|
0.52
|
0.56
|
|
Assets under management
|
$236.2 million
|
$8.6 billion
|
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated using weekly returns over five years. The 1-year return represents the total return over the last 12 months.
VDC is more affordable, with an expense ratio of 0.09% compared to 0.40% for RSPS, while RSPS offers a slightly higher dividend yield at 2.7% compared to 2.2% for VDC.
|
Metric
|
RSPS
|
VCC
|
|
Maximum mintage (5 years)
|
(18.64%)
|
(16.55%)
|
|
Growth of $1,000 over 5 years
|
$988
|
$1,244
|
VDC owns 105 stocks and follows the broader consumer staples sector, with a portfolio comprised of 98% consumer defensives, 1% consumer discretionary, and a negligible portion of industrials. Its most important positions are Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) at 14.53%, Costco wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) at 12.00%, and The Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) at 10.09%. The fund has a long history of 21.9 years and pays dividends quarterly, with the most recent ex-dividend date being December 17, 2025.
RSPS, on the other hand, focuses strictly on defensive consumer stocks within the S&P 500 and weights each stock equally, resulting in 37 positions. Major names include Dollar General (NYSE:DG) at 3.52% and Monster drink (NASDAQ:MNST) at 3.34% of the fund. This equal weighting can provide greater exposure to mid-sized companies, but with less diversification than VDC.
For more advice on investing in ETFs, check out the full guide at this link.
Both of these ETFs focus on the defensive consumer staples sector, but their approaches to building a portfolio differ significantly. Investors choosing between these two options must weigh the benefits of cost reduction and mega-cap concentration against the potential of equal weighting to reduce single-stock risk.
VDC follows the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples Index with 105 holdings and fees of just 0.09%. Its market cap weighting means that industry giants like Walmart, Costco, and Procter & Gamble dominate the portfolio.
RSPS equally weights 38 securities from the S&P 500 Consumer Staples Indexgiving each stake approximately 2.6% in quarterly rebalances. This prevents concentration but costs more, with a 0.40% expense ratio.
Consumer staples companies (producers of food, beverages, household products, and personal care items) typically underperform during bull markets but provide stability when markets fall. Investors choose these funds for their reliable dividends and low volatility rather than their aggressive growth, making them portfolio mainstays during times of economic uncertainty.
As for these two ETFs, Vanguard’s VDC offers lower costs and has produced higher recent returns, although both funds underperformed last month. Invesco’s RSPS is distinguished by a fairer distribution of risks across a reduced number of securities.
Expense rate: The annual fee, as a percentage of assets, that a fund charges to cover operating costs.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by a fund or stock divided by its current price, expressed as a percentage.
Beta: A measure of a fund’s volatility relative to the broader market, usually the S&P 500.
Maximum print run: The largest percentage decline observed from a fund’s peak value to its lowest point over a period.
Equally weighted: A portfolio strategy where each stock is assigned the same weighting, regardless of company size.
Weighted by market capitalization: A portfolio strategy where holdings are weighted based on the total market value of each company.
AUM (assets under management): The total market value of the assets that a fund manages on behalf of investors.
Basic consumer goods: Businesses that produce essential products, such as food, beverages and household items, needed regardless of economic conditions.
Defensive consumer: Another term for consumer staples; companies whose products are always in demand.
Cyclical consumption: Companies whose sales are very sensitive to economic cycles, such as retailers and automobile manufacturers.
Dividend ex-dividend date: The deadline for being eligible to receive the next dividend payment from a stock or fund.
Total yield: The change in price of the investment plus any dividends and distributions, assuming those payments are reinvested.
Have you ever felt like you missed the boat by buying the best performing stocks? Then you will want to hear this.
On rare occasions, our team of expert analysts issues a “Doubled” actions recommendation for businesses that they believe are on the verge of collapse. If you’re worried that you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:
-
Nvidia: If you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you would have $489,825!*
-
Apple: If you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you would have $51,557!*
-
Netflix: If you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you would have $490,703!*
Right now we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companiesavailable when you register Equity Advisorand there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.
See the 3 actions »
*Stock Advisor returns effective January 2, 2026
Sarah Appino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool posts and recommends Costco Wholesale, Monster Beverage and Walmart. The Mad Motley has a disclosure policy.
VDC vs RSPS: broad diversification or balanced bets for investors in consumer staples? was originally published by The Motley Fool
