VUS vs ZINC

VUSBVirtus U.S. Dividend ETF

ZINCCZacks Income ETF

In short

VUS An AI-assisted dividend fund at a passive-fund price. A quant model reads sentiment and valuation, humans make the final call, and it charges 0.25%, less than half the typical active US dividend ETF.

ZINC An active dividend fund built around a payout policy: the prospectus sets a target distribution of roughly 8% annualized on NAV, funded by dividends and, when needed, return of capital. Fee is 0.55% net of a waiver through June 30, 2027.

Stated mandate

VUS The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, long-term capital appreciation.

ZINC The Fund is an actively managed ETF whose stated principal strategy applies hybrid research.

Why people hold it

• VUS 0.25% a year, under half the 0.55% median for active US dividend ETFs and cheaper than every top-graded name in the cohort (CGDV, HIDV, MBOX, BGIG, TDVG).
• The engine: a proprietary alpha model using AI-powered language processing for sentiment plus valuation factors. Virtus portfolio managers make the final trading calls.sec.gov
• About 90 US-listed dividend payers, with at least 80% of net assets in them. Focused enough for picks to register, wide enough to spread single-name risk.sec.gov

• ZINC Income is the design, not a by-product: managed distributions aim at a target rate of about 8% annualized on per-share NAV at declaration, rather than whatever the portfolio happens to yield.sec.gov
• Plain stocks, no options overlay. At least 80% of assets go to securities that paid a dividend or interest in the prior year, picked bottom-up, usually large caps of $10 billion or more.sec.govsec.gov 2
• At 0.55% net of a waiver through June 30, 2027, the fee sits near the category norm for active dividend funds, though peers like VUS at 0.25% and CGDV at 0.33% charge less.

Worth knowing

• VUS Launched December 2025 with a small asset base and light volume, so spreads can run wider than the cohort's household names and live history on the model is short.
• The prospectus lets the fund put more than 15% of assets in a single sector, so the portfolio can lean hard into a few corners of the market.sec.gov
• Income arrives annually or semiannually rather than monthly, so the cash shows up in lumps.

• ZINC That payout can include your own money back: the prospectus says distributions may be partly return of capital, so a check is not proof of profit. The target can also be raised or lowered without notice.sec.gov
• Concentration is deliberate: the fund intends to put more than 25% of net assets in financial services, so bank and insurer stress lands harder here than in a broad dividend fund.sec.gov
• Young and small. It launched in 2026, is thinly traded with a modest asset base, and the gross fee of 1.07% is what applies if the waiver ends June 30, 2027 without renewal.

Full VUS profile⁠

Full ZINC profile⁠