Which Vanguard Dividend ETF Is the Better Buy: VIG or VYM?

Josh Kohn-Lindquist, The Motley Fool

Wed, June 24, 2026 astatine 5:48 AM CDT 4 min read

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT:VIG) focuses connected companies with a past of expanding their payouts, portion Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEMKT:VYM) targets a broader radical of stocks that connection a higher existent yield.

Vanguard offers 2 superior options for equity income investors, but their underlying philosophies disagree significantly. This examination examines whether VIG's absorption connected dividend consistency provides a amended equilibrium of maturation and stableness than VYM's high-yield screening successful the existent marketplace environment.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months. Dividend output is the trailing-12-month organisation yield.

Cost is simply a non-issue successful this matchup, arsenic some funds diagnostic identical 0.04% disbursal ratios, placing them among the astir affordable options successful the category. The superior differentiator is the income profile; VYM offers a higher existent payout than VIG.

Performance & hazard examination

What's wrong

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) focuses connected prime by requiring its holdings to person a past of expanding dividends for astatine slightest 10 consecutive years. Its portfolio of 338 stocks is heavy weighted toward exertion (26%), fiscal services (21%), and healthcare (16%). Its largest positions see Broadcom at 5.42%, Apple at 4.58%, and Microsoft at 4.28%. This money was launched successful 2006 and paid $3.45 per stock implicit the trailing 12 months.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) casts a wider nett with 589 holdings and a antithetic assemblage premix led by fiscal services (20%), exertion (18%), and healthcare (12%). Its apical holdings see Broadcom astatine 8.52%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. astatine 3.15%, and Exxon Mobil at 2.53%. Also launched successful 2006, it has a trailing-12-month dividend of $3.51 per share, reflecting its nonsubjective of capturing higher-than-average existent yields done a diversified equity strategy.

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