What Is VYM? Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

VYM is the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, a passively-managed fund that tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. Its methodology is deliberately simple: it ranks US dividend-paying stocks by forecasted yield and selects those above the median. There is no quality screen layered on top, no test for dividend history, cash-flow coverage, or balance-sheet strength. If a company pays an above-average yield, it qualifies. The result is a very broad fund of roughly 540 holdings at a 0.06% expense ratio.

That breadth is the defining feature of VYM. Where a quality-screened fund narrows the universe to about 100 names, VYM casts a wide net across the entire above-median-yield slice of the US market. The trade-off is a lower headline yield (around 2.7% as of early 2026) in exchange for much heavier diversification. VYM has been one of Vanguard's flagship dividend products since 2006, and its combination of breadth and rock-bottom cost is why it sits among the largest dividend ETFs by assets.

Approximate weights as of early 2026; refresh quarterly from Vanguard's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

Because VYM holds roughly 540 stocks, no single name dominates the way it might in a concentrated fund. The top positions sit at modest weights (the largest are around 3% rather than the larger slices you see in tighter funds), and the top 10 together account for only about a quarter of the fund. As of early 2026 those top names span Berkshire Hathaway, JPMorgan Chase, Broadcom, Exxon Mobil, Walmart, Procter and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Home Depot, AbbVie, and Bank of America. See the top-10 table above for current weights.

The sector mix leans toward financials, consumer staples, healthcare, energy, and industrials, the parts of the market that pay out cash consistently. One methodology quirk worth knowing: the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index excludes REITs, so VYM gives you no real-estate exposure (investors who want it usually pair VYM with a dedicated REIT fund). The index reconstitutes on a schedule, so the roster stays fairly stable between rebalances rather than churning with day-to-day yield moves.

VYM and SCHD are the two most-compared dividend ETFs, and they express genuinely different ideas at the same 0.06% cost. VYM simply selects above-median-yield US stocks with no quality filter, spreading across roughly 540 holdings and yielding around 2.7%. SCHD adds a quality screen (ten-year dividend history, free cash flow to debt, return on equity, and indicated yield), narrows to about 100 names, and yields closer to 3.5%. VYM is the broad-and-cheap diversified-yield play; SCHD is the concentrated quality-and-yield specialist.

Over long horizons their total returns have been reasonably close, though SCHD's quality screen has typically helped it hold up better in stress periods, while VYM's broader net means less single-name and sector risk. Neither is strictly better; they answer different questions about how much you value diversification versus a tighter quality filter. If you already own SCHD, adding VYM mostly buys you breadth rather than a different strategy, and the two overlap on several large dividend payers like Broadcom, Home Depot, and AbbVie.

VYM's total return comes from two sources: the roughly 2.7% it pays out in dividends, plus price appreciation in its underlying holdings. Because the fund tilts toward value-leaning, cash-generative sectors and away from the high-growth, low-yield technology names, it tends to lag a tech-heavy index like the S&P 500 in years when mega-cap growth leads, and to hold up comparatively better when those names fall out of favor. Its very broad construction also makes its behavior closer to the value side of the total market than a tightly screened fund.

One thing to understand before buying: VYM is a tilt toward dividend-paying value, not a bet on the highest-conviction compounders. Its breadth smooths out single-stock surprises, but it also means the fund will rarely shoot the lights out in either direction. Judge it over a full market cycle and on a total-return (price plus dividends) basis rather than on price alone, and compare it against what you actually want from the position: diversified income rather than maximum yield or maximum growth.

VYM tends to work as a broad income sleeve sitting alongside a market-cap core. A common structure is a core like VOO or VTI for growth, with VYM layered in for yield, lower volatility, and a tilt toward the value-and-quality side of the market the core underweights. Its 540-stock breadth makes it a low-maintenance way to add dividend exposure without making concentrated bets, which is part of why fee-conscious and income-focused investors have held it for years.

Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but a few things are worth weighing: VYM is US-only large-and-mid-cap, it excludes REITs, and its dividends are taxable in non-qualified accounts, so it is often held more efficiently inside a tax-advantaged account. If you already own SCHD, note that the two overlap on several big dividend payers, so adding VYM buys diversification more than a new strategy. In conversation, Walnut's AI can show you how much VYM overlaps with what you already hold and where it might sit as a satellite around your core.

VYM trades on NYSE Arca during US market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET) and is available commission-free at every major broker, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, Public, M1, and Webull. Vanguard offers it commission-free through its own brokerage. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers, which also lets the quarterly dividends (typically paid in March, June, September, and December) reinvest automatically as fractional shares (DRIP).

Walnut doesn't replace your broker, it sits on top of it. Connect any major broker and Walnut adds an AI layer that helps you build baskets around VYM, track how your income sleeve is doing against your targets, and rebalance when your allocation drifts.

ETFs are passive bundles; thematic baskets in Walnut let you concentrate within them. If you hold VYM as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

There are three common ways to get VYM exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of VYM directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic basket in Walnut, so VYM sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. VYM trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.

New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.

Whether VYM is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks FTSE High Dividend Yield, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is VYM a buy?

VYM is the broad-and-cheap dividend fund, spreading income exposure across hundreds of names at modest yield, where SCHD trades breadth for a quality screen and higher yield. It fits as a diversified income sleeve beside a market-cap core, and it overlaps with SCHD on several large dividend payers.

Whether VYM is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is VYM a buy?

VYM yields ~2.7% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see VYM dividend: yield and schedule.

SCHD uses a quality-and-dividend screen that tilts toward stronger balance sheets and dividend growth, while VYM casts a wider net across high-yield large caps. SCHD is more concentrated and growth-tilted; VYM holds more names at a broadly similar yield. Read the full side-by-side in SCHD vs VYM.

New to funds like VYM? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.