JOET vs VYM

JOETBVirtus Terranova U.S. Quality Momentum ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

JOET A CNBC regular's playbook in ETF form. Joe Terranova's index screens large U.S. companies for quality fundamentals and positive price momentum, then equal-weights the roughly 200 survivors so no mega-cap runs the show.

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

JOET The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Terranova U.S. Quality Momentum 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

• JOET Two screens, not one: names must clear quality fundamentals and show positive momentum, and the index is rebuilt quarterly so the momentum reading stays current.virtus.comvirtus.com 2
• Equal weighting spreads roughly 200 positions evenly, so the portfolio never leans on a few trillion-dollar names the way cap-weighted large-cap funds do.virtus.com
• At 0.29% a year, the fee sits within a hair of the typical U.S. factor ETF, so the rules-based twist isn't priced as a boutique product.
• No black box: Terranova built the methodology from his own 30-plus years on Wall Street, Indxx calculates the index, and the rules are published.virtus.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

• JOET A modestly sized fund that trades lightly next to headline factor ETFs, so spreads can be wider and limit orders are the usual way to handle that.
• Single-factor peers cost less (SIZE at 0.15%, MGV at 0.05%), though neither stacks a momentum screen on top of quality.
• Quarterly refreshes mean the lineup turns over as market leadership rotates, and the ride has been bumpier than the typical U.S. factor ETF.virtus.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 JOET profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠