SRHQ vs VYM

SRHQCSRH U.S. Quality GARP ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

SRHQ GARP in an index wrapper: SRHQ screens U.S. stocks for growth, quality and value together instead of picking one lane. A boutique shop's rules-based take on a blend most factor funds split apart.

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

SRHQ The Fund seeks to track the SRH U.S. Quality Index before fees and expenses through passive indexing.

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

• SRHQ Three factors, one rulebook: the SRH U.S. Quality Index screens growth, quality and value together, so the GARP blend is a stated mandate, not a manager's mood.
• Fully passive and plainly drawn. The prospectus names the index, the U.S. equity universe and the factor screen, so there is little mystery about the shopping list.
• At 0.35% it prices near the middle of the multifactor pack (0.32% median), so the three-factor screen does not carry a boutique markup.

• 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

• SRHQ Thinly traded, so spreads and the cost of getting in and out weigh more here than with the category's heavyweights.
• Small and young: launched in 2022 and still modest in size next to entrenched rivals, which matters for staying power.
• The cohort's cheapest options go far lower. VYM (0.04%), IUSG (0.04%) and VONV (0.06%) mean the GARP screen has to earn the extra fee.

• 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 SRHQ profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠