PAMC vs VYM

PAMCFPacer Lunt MidCap Multi-Factor Alternator ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

PAMC Most multi-factor funds blend momentum, quality, value and low volatility into one smoothie. This one alternates instead, rotating among those factors inside the S&P MidCap 400. Factor timing, not factor averaging.

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

PAMC The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by rotating among momentum, quality, value and volatility factors within S&P MidCap 400 companies.

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

• PAMC The alternator twist: rather than averaging four factors together, it rotates among momentum, quality, value and low volatility. One flavor at a time, by design.
• It hunts in mid-caps. The pond is S&P MidCap 400 companies, roughly 150 names held, while most multi-factor rivals crowd into large-cap value and growth.
• Rules run it, not a hunch. It follows the Lunt Capital U.S. MidCap Multi-Factor Rotation Index, has been live since 2020, and distributes 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

• PAMC The rotation costs 0.60% a year, close to double the typical multi-factor fund and ten times a plain-vanilla peer such as VONV at 0.06%.
• Rotation cuts both ways. When factor leadership flips fast, the switch can land late, and holding one factor means sitting out whichever one is running.
• Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so bid-ask spreads tend to run wider than on the household names of the factor aisle.

• 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 PAMC profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠