Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs VIG: how they differ
QUAL and VIG hold 39% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VIG hold 39% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | VIG |
|---|---|---|
| APPLE INC. | 6.28% | 4.10% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | 5.05% | 3.99% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 2.92% | 3.36% |
| VISA INC. | 3.09% | 2.34% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 1.92% | 2.51% |
| CATERPILLAR INC. | 2.52% | 1.88% |
| MASTERCARD INCORPORATED | 2.30% | 1.86% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION | 3.23% | 1.46% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION | 1.31% | 2.04% |
| WALMART INC. | 1.23% | 2.62% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. | 1.08% | 1.23% |
| KLA CORPORATION | 2.79% | 1.04% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in VIG |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Broadcom Inc 5.21% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | JPMorgan Chase & Co 3.61% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Exxon Mobil Corp 2.92% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.54% | AbbVie Inc 1.69% |
| APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. 2.45% | Cisco Systems Inc 1.64% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.12% | Bank of America Corp 1.58% |
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 2.12% | Home Depot Inc/The 1.48% |
| NETFLIX, INC. 2.00% | Oracle Corp 1.24% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | VIG Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | Dividend growth |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +12.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −5.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.04% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 95.7% |
| Holdings | 121 | 332 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
VIG in plain words
VIG is an index equity fund tracking the Dividend growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 332 positions, with the top ten at 32.7%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VIG?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VIG returned +12.4%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or VIG?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VIG charges 0.04%, so VIG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and VIG overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 96% of VIG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 39% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
Where to next
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against VIG, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-VIG Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources