USMF vs VYM

USMFBWisdomTree U.S. Multifactor Fund

VYMAVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

In short

USMF Most factor funds pick a lane: value, or growth, or dividends. USMF scores U.S. companies on value, quality, momentum and WisdomTree's own TAPE signal at once, then keeps only the roughly 200 that rank highest. One screen, four opinions.

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

USMF The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree U.S. Multifactor Index. That index generally selects 200 U.S. companies with the highest composite scores across value, quality, momentum and WisdomTree TAPE.

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

• USMF Four signals in one wrapper: value, quality, momentum and WisdomTree's TAPE score combine into a composite, and only the top-ranked names make the portfolio.
• 0.28% a year, below the typical fee in its factor peer group, which is unusual for a strategy running this much screening.
• Roughly 200 holdings, so the screen actually shapes the portfolio instead of getting diluted across a thousand-stock benchmark. Distributions come quarterly.
• Trading since 2017, so the multifactor blend has a live record across several market regimes rather than a backtest.

• 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

• USMF Cheap for a multifactor fund, not cheap outright: single-lane peers like VYM and IUSG charge 0.04%. The composite screen is what the extra buys.
• Volume is light next to the index heavyweights in its category, so spreads can widen when markets move fast.
• WisdomTree designs the index it tracks, and no peer fund follows the same benchmark, so there is no side-by-side clone to price-check against.

• 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 USMF profile⁠

Full VYM profile⁠