CDC vs VIG

CDCBVictoryShares US EQ Income Enhanced Volatility Wtd ETF

VIGAVanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

In short

CDC A dividend fund with a built-in seatbelt: the index weights high-yielding US large caps by volatility instead of size, and can shift part of the portfolio into cash after deep market declines.

VIG VIG buys dividend growth, not fat yields: about 300 US companies with a record of raising their payouts, tracked for 0.04% a year. Running since 2006 and now north of $100 billion, it is the plain-vanilla anchor of the dividend-screen aisle.

Stated mandate

CDC The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, a U.S. large-cap high-dividend index that uses long/cash positioning and volatility weighting. It generally invests at least 80% of assets in securities included in that index.

VIG The fund seeks to track the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, which represents common stocks of companies with a record of increasing dividends over time.

Why people hold it

• CDC The long/cash rule is the hook. The index can move part of the portfolio to cash when the market falls hard, then rebuild equity exposure as it recovers. Rare in dividend land.
• Volatility weighting spreads roughly 100 dividend payers by how much each one swings, so the biggest names don't automatically get the biggest slots.
• Running since 2014 and pays monthly, a cadence most equity dividend funds don't offer.
• The portfolio itself is one of the sturdier builds in the dividend-screen group, and the fund sits in the upper half of that peer set overall.

• VIG At 0.04% a year, the fee is roughly a tenth of the typical dividend-screen fund's 0.39%, and undercuts every other top-graded fund in the group, DGRO and SCHD included.
• The screen rewards a record of increasing dividends rather than the biggest current payout, so the basket leans on payout discipline instead of stretched yields.
• Live since 2006, over $100 billion in assets and actively traded, which shows up as easy fills rather than wide spreads.
• About 300 holdings, cash paid quarterly, and one of the strongest overall implementations in its dividend-screen peer group.

Worth knowing

• CDC At 0.38% it's right around the middle of dividend screens, but plain-vanilla rivals like SCHD (0.06%) and VIG (0.04%) cost a fraction. The rules aren't free.
• Thinly traded next to the mega dividend funds, so spreads can run wider and size matters when you're placing an order.
• The cash switch is reactive by design: it responds to declines that already happened rather than anticipating them.

• VIG Growth of payouts, not maximum income, is the mandate. That puts it on a different axis than high-dividend funds such as SPYD.
• US stocks only, no bonds and no overseas payers, and sector weights are whatever the index screen spits out.
• Portfolio risk and concentration measures land mid-pack for the category: it is fully invested in equities and drops when the market drops.

Full CDC profile⁠

Full VIG profile⁠