QQEW vs VYM

QQEWCFirst Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

QQEW Same Nasdaq-100 neighborhood, very different math: QQEW screens the names on a blended quality and growth score, then weights them roughly evenly, so a handful of megacaps don't run the whole portfolio.

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

QQEW The Fund seeks to track the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq-100 Select Equal WeightTM Index before fees and expenses, normally investing at least 80% of net assets in index securities.

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

• QQEW Equal weighting is the whole point. Each of the roughly 100 holdings gets a similar slice at rebalance, so the fund's path leans on the broad Nasdaq-100 field rather than its four or five biggest names.
• Not a blind equal-weight sleeve. The index picks its lineup using a Blended Quality and Growth Score, so the equal weighting is applied to a screened list, not the raw membership roll.ftportfolios.com
• Live since 2006, with billions in assets and quarterly distributions. This is a long-tenured fund that has traded through several full market cycles, not a recent thematic launch.
• The mandate is tight and testable: at least 80% of net assets in the securities of its named index, so what you see in the index rulebook is what drives the portfolio.

• 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

• QQEW Fees are the trade-off. At 0.55%, QQEW costs meaningfully more than the typical fund in its multifactor peer group, where broad names like VYM and IUSG run at a fraction of that.
• It trades lightly next to the household-name Nasdaq trackers, so bid-ask spreads can be wider, especially in fast markets or on large orders.
• Still a concentrated slice: roughly 100 companies from one exchange's large-cap index. Equal weighting spreads the bets inside that pool, it doesn't broaden the pool.

• 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 QQEW profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠