ROSC vs VYM

ROSCCHartford Multifactor Small Cap ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

ROSC Small caps with the risk dials turned down. ROSC's index leans toward cheaper, more profitable small companies and caps concentration, targeting up to 15% less volatility than the cap-weighted small-cap universe over a full market cycle.

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

ROSC The Fund seeks U.S. small-cap core equity exposure through a rules-based index whose constituents are selected and weighted using a multifactor methodology. The index targets up to a 15% reduction in volatility over a complete market cycle.

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

• ROSC The volatility target is written into the index: up to 15% less than the cap-weighted small-cap universe over a full market cycle, set by rules rather than manager calls.sec.gov
• A cheap-and-profitable tilt: the index screens for lower valuations than the Russell 2000 alongside quality and momentum, spread across roughly 300 names.hartfordfunds.com
• Hartford's own Lattice unit builds the index and publishes the full methodology, so the rules behind the portfolio are public reading.hartfordfunds.com

• 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

• ROSC It trades lightly, so spreads can run wider than on the giant small-cap index funds and order type matters more.
• The 0.34% fee sits a shade above its multifactor peer group's median and well above vanilla factor funds like VONV (0.06%) and IUSG (0.04%).
• The history predates the strategy: launched in 2015 as a global small-cap fund (then ROGS), it became a US-only multifactor fund in November 2019.sec.govsec.gov 2

• 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 ROSC profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠