MFUS vs VYM

MFUSBPIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

MFUS One ticker, four factors. MFUS tracks a RAFI index that blends value, momentum, quality and low volatility across roughly 800 US stocks, so no single style has to carry the load.

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

MFUS The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. 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

• MFUS Value, momentum, quality and low volatility ride in the same wrapper, so you are not stuck holding one style through its cold spell.
• At 0.30% a year, the fee sits just under the typical US multi-factor fund, unusual for a rules-based strategy with this much machinery under the hood.
• It has hugged its RAFI index tightly, with very little drift between fund and benchmark. One of the cleaner tracking records among US multi-factor peers.
• Roughly 800 holdings spread the bet wide across US equities, and the fund pays out 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

• MFUS Thinly traded next to the category's household names, so spreads can widen. That matters most on large or hurried orders.
• Plain-vanilla rivals cost a fraction: VONV at 0.06% and FNDX at 0.25%. The multi-factor engineering has to earn that gap.
• Mid-sized rather than a category giant, and a shifting factor mix can behave quite differently from a straight index over 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 MFUS profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠