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QUAL vs VFQY

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

QUALACboe

Vanguard U.S. Quality Factor ETF

VFQYACboe

Overlap

Expense ratio

VFQY −0.02pt a year

QUAL0.15%VFQY0.13%

Avg volume · 30D

QUAL 148.4×the volume

QUAL1.03MVFQY6.97K

5Y return · a year

QUAL +2.0pt

QUAL+10.7%VFQY+8.7%

QUAL vs VFQY Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+66.2%QUAL+52.1%VFQY

Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. QUAL +66.2%. VFQY +52.1%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−20%0%20%40%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026
Expense ratio
QUAL 0.15%
VFQY 0.13%, better
Fund size
QUAL $48B
VFQY $493M
1Y total return
QUAL +14.4%
VFQY +18.2%, better
Yield (12M)
QUAL 0.85%
VFQY 1.01%, better
Holdings
QUAL 121
VFQY 474
Avg volume (30D)
QUAL 1.03M sh, better
VFQY 6.97K sh
NAV per share
QUAL $222.43
VFQY $176.00
52W range

ETF.net Grade

QUAL: Cost 84, Risk 64, Mission 94, Tradability 96, Holdings 35, Durability 96. VFQY: Cost 96, Risk 56, Mission 68, Tradability 29, Holdings 84, Durability 76.
Pillar letters and Scores for QUAL, VFQY, with each pillar’s weight
PillarQUALVFQY
Cost30% weightA84A96Higher
Mission25% weightA94HigherB68
Risk15% weightB64HigherB56
Tradability15% weightA96HigherD29
Holdings10% weightD35A84Higher
Durability5% weightA96HigherA76

Rank among US Quality Index funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. QUAL and VFQY are both graded against the same 26 US Quality Index funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Quality Index⁠

Category · 26 funds
See all 26 ›

QUAL ranks 1st and VFQY 5th of 26 funds in the US Quality Index Category.

  1. Rank 1AJQUAJPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETFScore 81
  2. Rank 1AQUALiShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETFScore 81
  3. Rank 3AFQALFidelity Quality Factor ETFScore 75
  4. Rank 4ASPHQInvesco S&P 500 Quality ETFScore 74
  5. Rank 5AVFQYVanguard U.S. Quality Factor ETFScore 70
  6. Rank 6BXMHQInvesco S&P MidCap Quality ETFScore 67

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

QUALAiShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

VFQYAVanguard U.S. Quality Factor ETF

In short

QUAL QUAL screens US large and mid caps for high return on equity, low debt and steady earnings, then does it sector by sector, so the portfolio stays spread across the market instead of piling into whichever sector looks healthiest.

VFQY Vanguard's quality screen casts a wide net: it fishes the entire Russell 3000 for strong profits, sustainable earnings and clean balance sheets, and charges 0.13% for the work. Quality without the large-cap-only blinders.

Stated mandate

QUAL The fund tracks an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization stocks selected for quality characteristics, including high return on equity, stable earnings, and low debt.

VFQY The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by primarily investing in U.S. common stocks selected for strong fundamentals, including profitability, sustainable earnings, and healthy balance sheets.

Why people hold it

  • QUAL At 0.15%, it undercuts the typical quality-factor fund, where the cohort median sits at 0.29%.
  • Sector neutral by design: companies are ranked on return on equity, leverage and earnings variability against rivals in their own GICS sector.msci.comishares.com
  • Running since 2013, now a $25B-$100B fund that trades actively, with returns that stay close to its index.
  • VFQY At 0.13% a year it undercuts most of the quality-factor field and sits alongside the cheapest names in it (JQUA, QUAL, FQAL).
  • Starts from the Russell 3000 rather than a mega-cap list, so mid and smaller companies that clear the screens can make the cut. Roughly 400 stocks in the basket.vanguard.com
  • Quality is defined on several axes at once: profitability, sustainable earnings and healthy balance sheets, spelled out in the fund's own objective.vanguard.com
  • Running since 2018, it ranks among the stronger implementations in its quality-factor peer group. Distributions come quarterly.

Worth knowing

  • QUAL About 120 large and mid caps, leaning on the same familiar giants as a broad US index fund. This is a tilt on core equity, not new ground.
  • Sector neutrality cuts both ways: it keeps a foot in every sector rather than stepping away from ones with weak fundamentals.msci.com
  • Cheap, not cheapest. JQUA (0.12%) and VFQY (0.13%) shave a basis point or three off the fee.
  • VFQY Trades lightly next to the category's household names, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads when you go to buy or sell.
  • The wide net cuts both ways: mid and small-cap holdings can make it move differently from large-cap-only quality funds such as SPHQ.
  • This is an advertised factor screen, not the market. The portfolio is built to look different from a plain US index, and it does.

Full QUAL profile⁠

Full VFQY profile⁠

QUAL vs VFQY Holdings

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

QUAL vs VFQY Cost

Overpaying QUAL vs VFQY

$411

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • QUAL 0.15%

    $3,137

  • VFQY 0.13%

    $2,726

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • QUAL 0.15%
  • VFQY 0.13%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$1K$2K$3K$4K051015202530QUAL $3,137VFQY $2,726

Year by year

YearQUALVFQYOverpaying
10$274$238$36
20$1,071$930$141
30$3,137$2,726$411

Expense ratio

  • 0.15%QUAL
  • 0.13%VFQY, cheaper
  • Middle half of US Quality Index funds
  • Median 0.39%

VFQY 2nd cheapest of 26 funds

QUAL 3rd cheapest of 26 funds

QUAL vs VFQY Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Yield (12M)
QUAL 0.85%
VFQY 1.01%, better
Payout (12M)
QUAL $1.89
VFQY $1.77
Last payment
QUAL $0.47
VFQY $0.38
Ex-dividend
QUAL Sep 15, 2026
VFQY Sep 23, 2026
Paid on
QUAL Sep 18, 2026
VFQY Sep 25, 2026
Frequency
QUAL Quarterly
VFQY Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

QUALQuarterly · 40 paymentsAll QUAL payments⁠
One bar per payment. 40 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 24, 2017 $0.35; Jun 27, 2017 $0.39; Sep 26, 2017 $0.34; Dec 21, 2017 $0.38; Mar 22, 2018 $0.38; Jun 26, 2018 $0.38; Sep 26, 2018 $0.37; Dec 17, 2018 $0.41; Mar 20, 2019 $0.35; Jun 17, 2019 $0.45; Sep 24, 2019 $0.37; Dec 16, 2019 $0.44; Mar 25, 2020 $0.41; Jun 15, 2020 $0.36; Sep 23, 2020 $0.44; Dec 14, 2020 $0.41; Mar 25, 2021 $0.54; Jun 10, 2021 $0.38; Sep 24, 2021 $0.42; Dec 13, 2021 $0.41; Mar 24, 2022 $0.38; Jun 9, 2022 $0.42; Sep 26, 2022 $0.53; Dec 13, 2022 $0.48; Mar 23, 2023 $0.37; Jun 7, 2023 $0.38; Sep 26, 2023 $0.51; Dec 20, 2023 $0.45; Dec 28, 2023 $0.10; Mar 21, 2024 $0.37; Jun 11, 2024 $0.35; Sep 25, 2024 $0.54; Dec 17, 2024 $0.55; Mar 18, 2025 $0.39; Jun 16, 2025 $0.39; Sep 16, 2025 $0.47; Dec 16, 2025 $0.61; Mar 17, 2026 $0.42; Jun 15, 2026 $0.39; Sep 15, 2026 $0.47. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD
VFQYQuarterly · 34 paymentsAll VFQY payments⁠
One bar per payment. 34 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Jun 28, 2018 $0.39; Sep 26, 2018 $0.20; Dec 19, 2018 $0.33; Mar 21, 2019 $0.25; Jun 21, 2019 $0.31; Sep 16, 2019 $0.24; Dec 20, 2019 $0.37; Mar 23, 2020 $0.23; Jun 29, 2020 $0.27; Sep 21, 2020 $0.28; Dec 24, 2020 $0.44; Mar 22, 2021 $0.26; Jun 29, 2021 $0.30; Sep 24, 2021 $0.27; Dec 27, 2021 $0.40; Mar 21, 2022 $0.27; Jun 29, 2022 $0.37; Sep 23, 2022 $0.38; Dec 22, 2022 $0.48; Mar 23, 2023 $0.39; Jun 23, 2023 $0.48; Sep 21, 2023 $0.37; Dec 19, 2023 $0.50; Mar 21, 2024 $0.40; Jun 27, 2024 $0.53; Sep 26, 2024 $0.43; Dec 23, 2024 $0.53; Mar 25, 2025 $0.44; Jun 20, 2025 $0.45; Sep 24, 2025 $0.41; Dec 23, 2025 $0.50; Mar 24, 2026 $0.45; Jun 24, 2026 $0.44; Sep 23, 2026 $0.38. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD

QUAL vs VFQY Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

  • QUAL
  • VFQY
Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. Worst fall: QUAL −28.2% · Oct 2022. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−30%−20%−10%0%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
QUAL 11.7%, betterVFQY 13.1%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
QUAL 1.32, betterVFQY 1.07
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
QUAL −28.2%VFQY −25.9%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
QUAL 0.90VFQY 0.98

QUAL and VFQY in the news

All news⁠

Popular comparisons

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