DVOL vs VYM

DVOLDFirst Trust Dorsey Wright Momentum & Low Volatility ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

DVOL Momentum and low volatility usually pull in opposite directions. DVOL runs both screens through a Dorsey Wright index and lands on roughly 50 stocks that are climbing without much drama. A niche recipe, priced like one at 0.60%.

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

DVOL The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Dorsey Wright Momentum Plus Low VolatilityTM 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

• DVOL Two factors, one ticket: the index screens for momentum and low volatility together instead of asking you to own a fund for each and hope they blend.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 50 names, not 500. The factor tilt actually shows up in the portfolio instead of being watered down by hundreds of index leftovers.
• Live since 2018, so the rules have traded through real market shocks rather than existing only as a backtest.
• A published index calls the shots and cash goes out quarterly. No manager improvising between rebalances.ftportfolios.com

• 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

• DVOL The 0.60% fee sits well above the typical multifactor fund. Large peers like VONV and FNDX charge a fraction of that, and the gap comes straight out of results.
• Volume is light for the category, so spreads and trade timing matter more here than with a mega-cap index fund.
• With about 50 holdings, individual names and whichever sectors currently clear the screen carry real weight versus a broad-market fund.

• 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 DVOL profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠