THLV vs VYM

THLVDTHOR Equal Weight Low Volatility ETF

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

THLV Most low-volatility funds screen individual stocks. THLV works a level up: it holds U.S. equity ETFs in equal weight and rotates them by rule, tilting toward calmer corners of the market.

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

THLV The Fund seeks results corresponding to the THOR Equal Weight Low Volatility Index. It invests at least 80% of assets in index securities, which are U.S. equity ETFs selected through a rules-based sector rotation process.

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

• THLV A fund of funds by design. It owns U.S. equity ETFs rather than single names, so no one company can dominate the portfolio.
• Rules all the way down: sector rotation follows THOR's own low-volatility and momentum index, not a manager's gut call.
• Purely domestic, with at least 80% of assets in the index's U.S. equity ETFs. No currency layer to untangle.
• Risk behavior is where it stands up best inside its multifactor peer group, which is the point of a low-vol mandate.

• 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

• THLV Cost is the trade-off: 0.64% a year, well above what most funds in this multifactor group charge.
• Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than at heavily traded peers, and limit orders matter more here.
• Launched in 2022 with a modest asset base, so the track record is shorter than most of its peer group's.

• 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 THLV profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠