(VYM) Vanguard High Dividend - Ratings and Ratios

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund ETF (NYSE ARCA: VYM) follows a passive indexing strategy that seeks to mirror the performance of a dividend-weighted benchmark composed of U.S. large-cap stocks with historically above-average dividend payouts. The fund attempts to replicate the index by allocating virtually all assets to the constituent securities, maintaining each holding in proportion to its index weight.

Key quantitative attributes (as of the latest public data) include an expense ratio of 0.06%, a distribution yield hovering around 3.5% annualized, and total net assets exceeding $45 billion, placing VYM among the most liquid high-dividend ETFs. Its top ten holdings are dominated by mature, cash-generating firms such as Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, and Procter & Gamble, collectively representing roughly 30% of the portfolio.

Sector exposure is heavily tilted toward Financials, Consumer Staples, and Health Care-areas that historically exhibit resilient cash flows and dividend sustainability. However, the fund’s performance is sensitive to macro-economic variables like the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate policy; rising rates can compress equity valuations and increase the relative attractiveness of fixed-income alternatives, potentially dampening demand for dividend-focused equities.

Given the current environment of modest earnings growth and an inverted yield curve, investors should monitor the forward dividend-growth rates of the underlying constituents and the fund’s turnover ratio (≈ 10% annual) to assess how closely it continues to track its benchmark.

For a deeper, data-driven comparison of VYM’s valuation metrics against peers, consider exploring ValueRay’s analytical tools, which can help you quantify the trade-off between yield and risk in a systematic way.