DSTL vs VYM

DSTLCDistillate U.S. Fundamental Stability & Value ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

DSTL Value, redefined by cash. DSTL screens large-cap America for low debt and steady cash flows, then buys the cheapest survivors on Distillate's normalized free-cash-flow measure rather than on P/E or book value.

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

DSTL The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Distillate U.S. Fundamental Stability & Value 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

• DSTL Values companies on normalized free cash flow against enterprise value instead of P/E or book value, an approach aimed at a market full of intangible-heavy businesses.distillatecapital.com
• Quality gate comes first: it starts from roughly 500 profitable large caps, then screens out high debt and unstable cash flows before valuation enters the picture.distillatecapital.com
• Positions are weighted by free cash flow generation and rebalanced quarterly, so size follows cash produced rather than market cap. Distributions are paid quarterly.distillatecapital.com
• Live since 2018 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, so the process has a real record rather than a backtest.

• 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

• DSTL At 0.39% it costs more than plain-vanilla value funds such as VONV (0.06%) and VYM (0.04%). You are paying for the cash-flow research.
• The benchmark is Distillate's own index, so outcomes ride on one firm's proprietary cash-flow model rather than a widely used public rulebook.distillatecapital.com
• Concentrated by design: a slim slice of the large-cap universe, weighted by cash flow, so sector mix can look very different from the S&P 500.distillatecapital.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 DSTL profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠