QLC vs VYM

QLCBNorthern Trust US Quality Large Cap ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

QLC One optimizer, three factors. QLC chases quality, value and momentum together, then boxes its sector, industry and beta bets close to the large-cap universe. Running since 2015 on Northern Trust's in-house quality model.

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

QLC The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Northern Trust Quality Large Cap 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

• QLC Quality has a definition here: a proprietary Northern Trust model scores profitability, management efficiency and cash flow, then an optimizer blends it with value and momentum.northerntrust.com
• Guardrails are written into the index rules: sector and industry weights within 3 points of the eligible universe, beta within 5%, turnover capped. The tilt stays a tilt.northerntrust.com
• 0.25% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027 (0.26% gross) sits near the category median, and the fund has hugged its index closely rather than drifting from it.
• Live since 2015, a multi-billion-dollar fund paying quarterly, and one of the stronger builds in a crowded multifactor field.

• 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

• QLC Plain-vanilla factor rivals cost far less: VYM at 0.04%, VONV at 0.06%, LRGF at 0.08%. The spread is what the quality model costs.
• Not one of the heavily traded names in its category, so spreads can run wider than the giants'. Order type matters more here.
• About 160 stocks is a slimmer roster than a broad large-cap index, so individual names and the optimizer's choices carry more weight.northerntrust.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 QLC profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠