COWS vs VYM

COWSBAmplify Cash Flow Dividend Leaders ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

COWS Lots of funds hunt cash cows. COWS wants proof: positive forward and trailing free cash flow yield, plus three straight years of dividend growth. Monthly payouts, 0.19% net of a waiver through January 28, 2027.

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

COWS The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and monthly income by generally tracking the Kelly US Cash Flow Dividend Leaders Index.

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

• COWS The screen looks forward, not just back: both trailing and analyst-estimated forward free cash flow yield must be positive, then three consecutive years of dividend growth.amplifyetfs.com
• 0.19% net of a waiver through January 28, 2027 (0.39% gross) sits below the category median fee, and the fund ranks in the upper half of a crowded multifactor group.
• Equity income paid monthly, no options overlay or bond sleeve. Amplify estimates annual income and pays it in installments.amplifyetfs.com
• Modified equal weight across 40 to 50 mid- and large-cap names, rebalanced quarterly, so no single cash cow runs the herd.amplifyetfs.comamplifyetfs.com 2

• 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

• COWS Monthly checks are estimated ahead of time, so part of a payment can be return of capital: your own money coming back, as the fund discloses.amplifyetfs.com
• Plain-vanilla rivals cost less: VYM charges 0.04% and VONV 0.06% for broad dividend and value exposure, with no waiver propping up the number.
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads run wider than mega-cap staples. The index is proprietary to Kelly Indexes, an affiliate of the fund's sub-adviser.amplifyetfs.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 COWS profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠