AFLG vs VYM

AFLGCFirst Trust Active Factor Large Cap ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

AFLG Four factors (value, quality, momentum, low volatility) blended into one US large-cap portfolio, run by an active manager tuning risk against the S&P 500 instead of following a frozen index recipe. Roughly 250 names.

VYM The no-frills dividend workhorse. VYM buys the higher-yielding end of the US market, roughly 600 names, for four basis points: no quality screen, no dividend-growth-streak test, just yield, at scale since 2006.

Stated mandate

AFLG The fund seeks capital appreciation. It normally invests at least 80% of assets in U.S.-listed equity securities of large-capitalization companies and uses active risk management with a quantitative multi-factor approach.

VYM The Fund seeks to track a benchmark index measuring the investment return of common stocks from companies characterized by high dividend yields.

Why people hold it

• AFLG Four factor bets in one ticket: value, quality, momentum and low volatility, combined in a single large-cap sleeve rather than four separate funds you have to weight yourself.ftportfolios.com
• Actively managed with a quantitative process, so factor tilts and risk can be adjusted between reconstitution dates instead of waiting on an index calendar. The S&P 500 is the yardstick.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 250 US large caps, at least 80% of assets in that mandate, and quarterly distributions. The portfolio has stuck closely to the multi-factor large-cap job it advertises.

• VYM Four basis points a year, against a peer-group median near 0.32%. Cheaper than cohort neighbors VONV (0.06%) and FNDX (0.25%).
• Running since 2006 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so ordinary orders tend to fill at tight spreads.
• Simple mandate: track the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index of US common stocks screened on yield. No manager discretion, no options overlay, plain 1940-Act fund.vanguard.com
• Pays quarterly, and among 100-plus value and multifactor rivals it stands as one of the strongest overall packages in the group.

Worth knowing

• AFLG At 0.55% a year it costs more than the typical multi-factor large-cap fund, and multiples of index-built peers like FNDX (0.25%) or VONV (0.06%).
• Active means the factor mix is the manager's call, not a published rulebook you can audit line by line before you buy.
• Moderately traded rather than a category heavyweight, so limit orders are the friendlier way in and out.

• VYM The screen is yield, not payout growth or dividend quality, so a company can qualify simply because its share price fell.
• This is a value slice by design, tilted to established payers, so it behaves differently from a total US market fund.
• Roughly 600 holdings, but weight leans toward the largest payers, so the top of the roster does more of the work than the count suggests.

Full AFLG profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠