FTC vs VYM

FTCCFirst Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

FTC A 2007-vintage smart-beta original. Instead of ranking large-cap growth names by size, FTC scores the field on growth and value metrics and holds only the roughly 190 stocks its AlphaDEX screen likes best.

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

FTC The fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index, before fees and expenses.

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

• FTC Rules-based, not cap-weighted: the AlphaDEX screen ranks large caps on both growth and value measures, so position sizes come from the scoring model rather than from a company's market value.ftportfolios.com
• Launched in 2007, making it one of the elder statesmen of factor investing, with a live record across multiple full market cycles rather than a backtest.
• Roughly 190 holdings, a far wider net than the concentrated megacap-heavy growth funds it sits beside. It is a multi-billion-dollar fund and pays quarterly.

• 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

• FTC At 0.58%, the fee runs well above the multifactor peer median of 0.32%, and above rules-based rivals like FNDX (0.25%) and IUSG (0.04%). The screen has to earn that gap.
• Thinly traded compared with its category, so spreads can widen. Limit orders and avoiding the opening and closing bells matter more here than with the mega-liquid names.
• The blended growth-and-value screen means the portfolio can look and behave quite differently from a plain large-cap growth benchmark in any given stretch.

• 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 FTC profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠