BUYB vs VYM

BUYBCProShares S&P 500 Buyback Aristocrats ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

BUYB Dividend Aristocrats, but for share counts. BUYB was the first ETF built on S&P 500 companies that have shrunk their shares outstanding 10 years running, then weights them equally so no single mega-cap runs the show.

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

BUYB The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the S&P 500 Buyback Aristocrats Index. It uses a passive approach and generally invests in the index components or representative instruments.

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

• BUYB A streak test, not a snapshot: the index picks S&P 500 names that reduced common shares outstanding for at least 10 consecutive years, so a single splashy buyback year doesn't earn a seat.sec.gov
• Equal weighting across a minimum of 40 companies gives every holding the same starting slice, a very different shape from cap-weighted large-cap exposure.sec.gov
• First mover on the idea: ProShares launched it in 2026 as the first ETF invested exclusively in companies with a persistent record of buying back their stock.proshares.com
• Shrinking share counts show up in share price rather than cash in your account, and the fund's own payout schedule is once or twice a year, not monthly.

• 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

• BUYB The 0.39% fee sits above the 0.29% median for its multifactor peer group, and index heavyweights like VYM (0.04%) and FNDX (0.25%) charge far less for broad large-cap factor exposure.
• A 2026 launch means no long tracking record yet, and a small, lightly traded fund can show wider bid/ask spreads than the category's established names.
• Buyback programs can be trimmed, paused, or timed poorly, and if too few companies clear the 10-year bar the index steps the requirement down toward five years.sec.govproshares.com

• 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 BUYB profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠