Been looking at consumer staples ETFs lately and keep seeing VDC and FSTA pop up. They're basically the same fund tracking the same sector, but I wanted to see if one actually stands out as the better choice.

So here's the thing - they're almost identical. Both hold the defensive consumer stocks like Walmart, Costco, and P&G. VDC has 105 holdings, FSTA has 96, but it doesn't really matter for performance. Their one-year returns were basically the same (around 8%), same max drawdowns over five years, same beta. On paper, you'd struggle to find a meaningful difference.

The actual differences are pretty minor. FSTA charges 0.08% expense ratio versus VDC's 0.09% - not exactly life-changing. FSTA also yields slightly higher dividends at 2.18% vs 2.10%. If you're focused on costs or income, FSTA edges it out, but we're talking pennies over time.

The one thing that matters is size. VDC has $9.1 billion in assets while FSTA sits at $1.4 billion. If you're trading large volumes or just prefer a more liquid fund, VDC wins. For most retail investors though, this won't make a practical difference.

If I had to pick the best consumer staples ETF between these two, I'd lean FSTA for the slightly lower fees and higher yield, but honestly it's not a huge deal either way. The real question is whether consumer staples fits your portfolio strategy, not which of these two you choose. They're basically the same fund with different brand names.