SMLF vs VYM

SMLFAiShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

SMLF Four factors (value, quality, momentum, low volatility) applied to roughly 900 U.S. small caps for 0.15% a year. Small-cap factor investing at a plain-index price, from the biggest ETF shop on the street.

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

SMLF The Fund tracks an index of U.S. small-cap stocks selected for favorable exposure to style factors under constraints. Its rules-based index targets momentum, quality, value, and low volatility while controlling industry exposure, turnover, and risk relative to the parent index.

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

• SMLF 0.15% a year, less than half the typical fee in its multifactor peer group. The tilts aren't being eaten by the price of admission.
• Roughly 900 small caps picked on value, quality, momentum and low volatility, with industry weights, turnover and risk held close to the parent index. Tilts, not bets.ishares.com
• Trading since 2015 and now a billion-dollar-plus fund: one of the strongest implementations in a multifactor field that leans heavily large-cap.
• Rules-based and index-tracked, so the portfolio follows a published methodology rather than a manager's mood. Pays out quarterly.

• 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

• SMLF Small caps swing harder than blue chips. The low-volatility screen softens the ride; it doesn't flatten it.
• Stacking four factors means the holdings rarely look like a plain small-cap index, so results can drift from it in either direction for long stretches.
• Moderately traded rather than a tape heavyweight, so spreads deserve a glance before you hit the button.

• 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 SMLF profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠