SMDV vs VIG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

ProShares S&P SmallCap 600 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

SMDVCCboe

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

VIGANYSE Arca

Overlap

0.6%by weight

Expense ratio

VIG −0.36pt a year

SMDV0.40%VIG0.04%

Avg volume · 30D

VIG 9.5×the volume

SMDV108KVIG1.02M

10Y return · a year

VIG +6.3pt

SMDV+7.6%VIG+13.9%

SMDV vs VIG Performance

Nov 2, 2021 – Nov 2, 2026

+32.8%SMDV+64.7%VIG

Expense ratio: SMDV 0.40%; VIG 0.04%, better
Fund size: SMDV $668M; VIG $128B
1Y total return: SMDV +19.6%, better; VIG +16.2%
Yield (12M): SMDV 2.30%, better; VIG 1.47%
Holdings: SMDV 71; VIG 343
Avg volume (30D): SMDV 108K sh; VIG 1.02M sh, better
NAV per share: SMDV $74.31; VIG $247.72
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for SMDV, VIG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	SMDV	VIG
Cost30% weight	D36	A100Higher
Mission25% weight	A75	A84Higher
Risk15% weight	F13	B62Higher
Tradability15% weight	B56	B59Higher
Holdings10% weight	A71Higher	C53
Durability5% weight	B62	A91Higher

Rank among US Dividend Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. SMDV and VIG are both graded against the same 52 US Dividend Index funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Dividend Index⁠

Category · 52 funds

See all 52 ›

VIG ranks 4th and SMDV 36th of 52 funds in the US Dividend Index Category.

Rank 4ASPYDState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETFScore 79
Rank 4AVIGVanguard Dividend Appreciation ETFScore 79
Rank 6ADLNWisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Dividend FundScore 75
Rank 36CQDFNorthern Trust Quality Dividend ETFScore 49
Rank 36CSMDVProShares S&P SmallCap 600 Dividend Aristocrats ETFScore 49
Rank 39COUSMALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETFScore 48

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

SMDVCProShares S&P SmallCap 600 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

VIGAVanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF

In short

SMDV Dividend-growth screens usually live in large-cap land. SMDV points one at the small-cap Russell 2000 instead, holding about 100 names selected for their dividend growth records, and it has run that way since 2015.

VIG VIG buys dividend growth, not fat yields: about 300 US companies with a record of raising their payouts, tracked for 0.04% a year. Running since 2006 and now north of $100 billion, it is the plain-vanilla anchor of the dividend-screen aisle.

Stated mandate

SMDV SMDV seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index.

VIG The fund seeks to track the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, which represents common stocks of companies with a record of increasing dividends over time.

Why people hold it

SMDV A small-cap version of a large-cap idea: it tracks the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index, so the sorting rule is payout history rather than size or price momentum.
Live since 2015 with assets in the hundreds of millions, it is a settled product in a corner of the market where new ideas often come and go.
About 100 holdings and quarterly distributions make it a compact, income-oriented slice of US small caps, not a 2,000-stock index clone.

VIG At 0.04% a year, the fee is roughly a tenth of the typical dividend-screen fund's 0.39%, and undercuts every other top-graded fund in the group, DGRO and SCHD included.
The screen rewards a record of increasing dividends rather than the biggest current payout, so the basket leans on payout discipline instead of stretched yields.
Live since 2006, over $100 billion in assets and actively traded, which shows up as easy fills rather than wide spreads.
About 300 holdings, cash paid quarterly, and one of the strongest overall implementations in its dividend-screen peer group.

Worth knowing

SMDV At 0.40% a year it runs above the typical fund in its factor group, and far above broad dividend options such as VYM at 0.04%.
It trades thinly, so spreads and limit orders deserve more attention here than with a headline large-cap dividend fund.
Narrow by design: roughly 100 small caps chosen on dividend history can move quite differently from the full Russell 2000.

VIG Growth of payouts, not maximum income, is the mandate. That puts it on a different axis than high-dividend funds such as SPYD.
US stocks only, no bonds and no overseas payers, and sector weights are whatever the index screen spits out.
Portfolio risk and concentration measures land mid-pack for the category: it is fully invested in equities and drops when the market drops.

Full SMDV profile⁠

Full VIG profile⁠

SMDV vs VIG Holdings

How SMDV and VIG differ

Overlap by weight

0.6%

Shared holdings make up 69.3% of SMDV and 0.6% of VIG.

Level by level

Holdings49 in both0.6%
Sector11 Sectors52.0%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in SMDV and VIG, widest gap first
Sector	More in SMDVMore in VIG	SMDV	VIG
Technology	VIG +24.8 points	2.6%	27.4%
Industrials	SMDV +14.5 points	25.3%	10.8%
Health Care	VIG +13.8 points	4.9%	18.7%
Materials	SMDV +10.3 points	13.5%	3.2%
Utilities	SMDV +9.8 points	12.5%	2.7%
Financials	SMDV +8.3 points	28.9%	20.7%
Real Estate	SMDV +3.8 points	3.8%	0.0%
Consumer Staples	VIG +3.7 points	5.4%	9.1%
Energy	VIG +3.6 points	0.0%	3.6%
Consumer Discretionary	VIG +2.2 points	1.7%	3.9%
Communication	SMDV +1.5 points	1.5%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in SMDV and VIG, widest gap first
Country	More in SMDVMore in VIG	SMDV	VIG
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

SMDV15.8%
VIG34.5%

Securities held

SMDV70
VIG341

Asset class

SMDV: Equity
VIG: Equity

Holdings

Only in SMDV21
In both49
Only in VIG292

Only in SMDV

21 securities, 30.6% of SMDV by weight

Robert Half Inc1.77%
Trinity Industries Inc1.63%
Universal Corp/Va1.52%
Four Corners Property Trust1.48%
Eastman Chemical Co1.47%
J & J Snack Foods Corp1.46%
Unitil Corp1.45%
Wafd Inc1.45%
S & T Bancorp Inc1.45%
Cohen & Steers Inc1.44%
Heritage Financial Corp1.44%
Northwest Natural Holding Co1.43%
Getty Realty Corp1.43%
Avista Corp1.42%
Atlantic Union Bankshares Co1.42%
Simmons First Natl Corp-Cl A1.42%
Tompkins Financial Corp1.41%
Terreno Realty Corp1.40%
Perrigo Co PLC1.39%
Wiley (John) & Sons-Class A1.38%
Insperity Inc1.36%

Only in VIG

292 securities, 99.2% of VIG by weight

Microsoft Corp4.90%
Apple Inc4.89%
Broadcom Inc4.30%
Eli Lilly & Co4.10%
JPMorgan Chase & Co3.89%
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp2.96%
Johnson & Johnson2.83%
Visa Inc2.53%
Walmart Inc2.05%
AbbVie Inc2.05%
Mastercard Inc1.97%
Cisco Systems Inc1.88%
Lam Research Corp1.82%
Costco Wholesale Corp1.79%
Caterpillar Inc1.65%
Merck & Co Inc1.59%
Bank of America Corp1.57%
Procter & Gamble Co/The1.50%
Coca-Cola Co/The1.48%
UnitedHealth Group Inc1.46%
Home Depot Inc/The1.26%
Texas Instruments Inc1.13%
KLA Corp1.13%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The1.09%
Oracle Corp1.05%
Amgen Inc1.01%
Morgan Stanley0.99%
Linde PLC0.97%
Amphenol Corp0.92%
International Business Machines Corp0.92%
QUALCOMM Inc0.87%
Analog Devices Inc0.86%
Gilead Sciences Inc0.82%
PepsiCo Inc0.77%
Abbott Laboratories0.76%
Eaton Corp PLC0.74%
McDonald's Corp0.72%
Union Pacific Corp0.72%
NextEra Energy Inc0.70%
Blackrock Inc0.68%
Danaher Corp0.61%
S&P Global Inc0.53%
Chubb Ltd0.51%
Accenture PLC0.50%
Medtronic PLC0.49%
Starbucks Corp0.47%
Lockheed Martin Corp0.46%
Lowe's Cos Inc0.46%
Automatic Data Processing Inc0.45%
Phillips 660.45%

Weight gaps

All 49 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in SMDV and VIG, widest gap first
Holding	More in SMDVMore in VIG	SMDV	VIG
Hawkins IncHWKN	SMDV +1.63 points	1.64%	0.01%
WD-40 CoWDFC	SMDV +1.59 points	1.60%	0.01%
Badger Meter IncBMI	SMDV +1.55 points	1.57%	0.02%
Stepan CoSCL	SMDV +1.51 points	1.52%	<0.01%
Hni CorpHNI	SMDV +1.51 points	1.52%	0.01%
Griffon CorpGFF	SMDV +1.47 points	1.49%	0.02%
H2O AmericaHTO	SMDV +1.48 points	1.49%	<0.01%
Middlesex Water CoMSEX	SMDV +1.48 points	1.48%	<0.01%
California Water Service GrpCWT	SMDV +1.47 points	1.48%	0.01%
American States Water CoAWR	SMDV +1.46 points	1.47%	0.01%
Chesapeake Utilities CorpCPK	SMDV +1.46 points	1.47%	0.01%
Apogee Enterprises IncAPOG	SMDV +1.45 points	1.45%	<0.01%
Mueller Water Products Inc-AMWA	SMDV +1.45 points	1.46%	0.01%
Lakeland Financial CorpLKFN	SMDV +1.44 points	1.45%	<0.01%
Community Financial System ICBU	SMDV +1.43 points	1.44%	0.01%
Mge Energy IncMGEE	SMDV +1.42 points	1.43%	0.01%
Abm Industries IncABM	SMDV +1.42 points	1.43%	0.01%
Tennant CoTNC	SMDV +1.41 points	1.42%	<0.01%
United Community Banks/GaUCB	SMDV +1.41 points	1.43%	0.02%
Tootsie Roll IndsTR	SMDV +1.42 points	1.42%	<0.01%
Assured Guaranty LtdAGO	SMDV +1.41 points	1.42%	0.01%
City Holding CoCHCO	SMDV +1.41 points	1.42%	<0.01%
Lindsay CorpLNN	SMDV +1.40 points	1.41%	<0.01%
N B T Bancorp IncNBTB	SMDV +1.41 points	1.42%	0.01%
Independent Bank Corp/MaINDB	SMDV +1.40 points	1.42%	0.02%
Horace Mann EducatorsHMN	SMDV +1.40 points	1.41%	<0.01%
Servisfirst Bancshares IncSFBS	SMDV +1.40 points	1.42%	0.02%
Bancfirst CorpBANF	SMDV +1.40 points	1.41%	<0.01%
Innospec IncIOSP	SMDV +1.39 points	1.40%	0.01%
Otter Tail CorpOTTR	SMDV +1.39 points	1.41%	0.02%
Brady Corporation - Class ABRC	SMDV +1.39 points	1.41%	0.02%
Alamo Group IncALG	SMDV +1.38 points	1.39%	<0.01%
Kadant IncKAI	SMDV +1.39 points	1.40%	0.01%
Marketaxess Holdings IncMKTX	SMDV +1.38 points	1.41%	0.03%
Westamerica BancorporationWABC	SMDV +1.38 points	1.39%	<0.01%
National Bank Hold-Cl ANBHC	SMDV +1.37 points	1.38%	<0.01%
Balchem CorpBCPC	SMDV +1.37 points	1.39%	0.02%
H.b. Fuller Co.FUL	SMDV +1.36 points	1.37%	0.01%
Andersons Inc/TheANDE	SMDV +1.36 points	1.37%	<0.01%
Lemaitre Vascular IncLMAT	SMDV +1.34 points	1.35%	<0.01%
Worthington Enterprises IncWOR	SMDV +1.34 points	1.35%	<0.01%
Quaker Chemical CorporationKWR	SMDV +1.34 points	1.35%	<0.01%
Matson IncMATX	SMDV +1.30 points	1.33%	0.03%
Franklin Electric Co IncFELE	SMDV +1.30 points	1.32%	0.02%
Enpro IncNPO	SMDV +1.26 points	1.29%	0.03%
Power Integrations IncPOWI	SMDV +1.26 points	1.27%	0.01%
Standex International CorpSXI	SMDV +1.25 points	1.26%	0.01%
Materion CorpMTRN	SMDV +1.22 points	1.24%	0.02%
National Healthcare CorpNHC	SMDV +1.21 points	1.22%	0.01%

All 72 SMDV holdings⁠All 338 VIG 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.

SMDV vs VIG Cost

Overpaying SMDV vs VIG

$7,241

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

SMDV 0.40%
$8,090
VIG 0.04%
$849

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

SMDV 0.40%
VIG 0.04%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	SMDV	VIG	Overpaying
10	$723	$73	$650
20	$2,793	$288	$2,505
30	$8,090	$849	$7,241

Expense ratio

0.40%SMDV
0.04%VIG, cheaper

VIG0.04%SMDV0.40%

0.04%0.70%

Middle half of US Dividend Index funds
Median 0.35%

VIG cheapest of 52 funds

SMDV 37th cheapest of 52 funds

SMDV vs VIG Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): SMDV 2.30%, better; VIG 1.47%
Payout (12M): SMDV $1.75; VIG $3.65
Last payment: SMDV $0.42; VIG $0.93
Ex-dividend: SMDV Sep 23, 2026; VIG Sep 28, 2026
Paid on: SMDV Sep 29, 2026; VIG Sep 30, 2026
Frequency: SMDV Quarterly; VIG Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

SMDVQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll SMDV payments⁠

VIGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VIG payments⁠

SMDV vs VIG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

SMDV
VIG

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: SMDV 17.6%VIG 10.6%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: SMDV 0.58VIG 1.33, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: SMDV −21.2%VIG −20.4%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: SMDV 0.79VIG 0.82; Market = 1

SMDV and VIG in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
For a rising dividend, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF ranks first
Updated Nov 2, 2026VIG
New ETFs
Eventide lists two ETFs at 0.75% and 0.95% for strategies it already runs
Oct 30, 2026VIG
Head-to-Head
SCHD yields twice what VIG does. Over 10 years, VIG still leads.
Oct 22, 2026VIG
Best ETFs
Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.
Updated Oct 2, 2026VIG
First-Year Review
EASY's first year trailed the defensive index it names
Sep 30, 2026VIG
New ETFs
Raub Brock lists HQDG, an active dividend-growth ETF priced at 0.50%
Sep 8, 2026VIG

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SMDV vs VIG

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it