FDMO vs MGV

FDMOBFidelity Momentum Factor ETF

MGVAVanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Value ETF

In short

FDMO Momentum, house-built. FDMO tracks Fidelity's own US momentum index (about 130 stocks with the wind at their back) for 0.15% a year, roughly half what the typical US factor ETF charges.

MGV Most "value" ETFs slide down into mid caps. MGV stays at the very top of the US market and buys the value half of it for five basis points. Vanguard's plain, cheap way to own the old-guard giants.

Stated mandate

FDMO The fund seeks returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the Fidelity U.S. Momentum Factor Index.

MGV The ETF seeks to track the Morningstar US Mega Cap Value Index and provides passive, diversified exposure to the largest value stocks in the U.S. market.

Why people hold it

• FDMO 0.15% a year against a 0.28% median for US factor ETFs, so the momentum tilt starts with a smaller fee hurdle than most of the cohort.
• Fidelity builds the index it tracks, so the momentum recipe and the fund come from one shop instead of a licensed outside benchmark.
• Trading since 2016, which means a real record through the 2020 crash and the 2022 selloff rather than a backtest.
• Sits in the upper half of its US factor peer group, and pays shareholders quarterly.

• MGV At 0.05% it is the cheapest fund in its factor peer group, where the median charges 0.28%. It undercuts fellow top-rated peers SIZE (0.15%) and SUSA (0.25%).vanguard.com
• Launched December 2007, straight into the crash, and now a multi-billion-dollar fund. Long history, quarterly distributions, Vanguard plumbing behind it.
• One of the strongest overall showings in its US factor peer group, built on cost and staying power rather than a clever screen.

Worth knowing

• FDMO Momentum buys what is already working. The portfolio can crowd into whatever sector is hot and reshuffle when market leadership changes.
• About 130 names, so individual stocks and sector tilts pull harder here than in a broad total-market fund.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume giant, so execution deserves more attention than with the largest factor ETFs.

• MGV About 130 names, all mega caps. The biggest holdings carry real weight, and small and mid caps are absent by design.
• It tracks a Morningstar index of the largest US value stocks, so it leaves out the market's growth giants and can move very differently from a total-market fund.vanguard.com
• Moderately traded rather than a household-name ticker, so limit orders and mid-session trading matter more here than with the very largest index ETFs.

Full FDMO profile⁠

Full MGV profile⁠