Investing Port

This ETF offers targeted exposure to the U.S. consumer staples sector, making it too targeted for investors looking to simply buy and hold but a potentially useful tool for those implementing a sector rotation strategy or seeking to tilt their portfolio towards low beta holdings. Vanguard ETFs are generally among the most cost efficient choices in any category, but that isn't necessarily the case here; both FCD and XLP are slightly cheaper in terms of expense ratio. There are, however, no consumer staples ETFs that can match the depth of holdings delivered by VDC; the unique Vanguard structure allows this fund to hold more than 100 individual stocks and avoid excessive concentration in a small handful of mega cap stocks. There are a number of potential alternatives to VDC besides those ETFs mentioned above; the equal-weighted RHS is one option, while the alpha-seeking FXG and PSL could be interesting options as well.