MBCE vs VYM

MBCEFMonarch Blue Chips Elite Index ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

MBCE Monarch screens the S&P 500 down to the blue chips its own in-house index rates highest on growth and profitability. A focused, rules-based cut of large-cap America, priced at 1.01% a year with no fee waiver, above the category median.

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

MBCE The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Monarch Blue Chips Elite 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

• MBCE Rules first: the index starts from established S&P 500 names and keeps the ones showing growth and profitability strength, so a published screen sets the portfolio, not a manager's mood.monarchfunds.com
• One house, one playbook. Kingsview, the fund's adviser, is also the index provider, so the methodology is built in-house rather than licensed from an outside shop.monarchfunds.com
• Plain-vanilla plumbing: a 1940 Act US stock fund trading since 2021, paying shareholders quarterly. No leverage, no options overlay, no offshore wrapper.

• 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

• MBCE Cost is the big trade-off: 1.01% a year, no waiver, above the category median. Multifactor peers VYM and ILCV charge 0.04%, LRGF 0.08%, all unwaived.
• Thinly traded and small next to the giants of its group, so spreads and premiums to NAV can matter more at the moment you trade.
• Effective June 3, 2026, the benchmark moved from the Monarch Blue Chips Core Index to the Blue Chips Elite Index, so earlier history reflects a different index.monarchfunds.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 MBCE profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠