Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VYM?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VYM returned +17.6%, so VYM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, QUAL or VYM?

QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VYM charges 0.04%, so VYM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do QUAL and VYM overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 92% of VYM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 17% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

QUAL vs VYM: how they differ

QUAL and VYM hold 17% of their weight in the same names, and VYM returned more over the year.

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VYM hold 17% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions QUAL and VYM both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding	QUAL	VYM
JOHNSON & JOHNSON	1.92%	2.31%
CATERPILLAR INC.	2.52%	1.73%
MERCK & CO., INC.	1.08%	1.14%
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED	1.03%	1.41%
THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY	0.93%	1.45%
LINDE PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY	0.88%	0.98%
QUALCOMM INCORPORATED	1.42%	0.80%
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY	0.75%	1.28%
BLACKROCK, INC.	0.57%	0.68%
ABBOTT LABORATORIES	0.55%	0.66%
ACCENTURE PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY	0.83%	0.46%
Pepsico, Inc.	0.46%	0.91%

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in QUAL	Only in VYM
NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52%	Broadcom Inc 8.07%
APPLE INC. 6.28%	JPMorgan Chase & Co 3.36%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05%	Exxon Mobil Corp 2.73%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50%	AbbVie Inc 1.57%
LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23%	Cisco Systems Inc 1.52%
THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19%	Chevron Corp 1.51%
VISA INC. 3.09%	Bank of America Corp 1.45%
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92%	Home Depot Inc/The 1.37%

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 and VYM on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF	VYM Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	MSCI USA Quality Factor	US high dividend
Total return, 1 year	+16.0%	+17.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−1.5 pts	+0.1 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.04%
Already in the S&P 500	98.9%	92.2%
Holdings	121	608

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.

VYM in plain words

VYM is an index equity fund tracking the US high dividend. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.6% 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, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 608 positions, with the top ten at 25.7%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VYM?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VYM returned +17.6%, so VYM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, QUAL or VYM?: QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VYM charges 0.04%, so VYM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do QUAL and VYM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 92% of VYM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 17% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.

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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.

QUAL against VYM, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against VYM, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-VYM Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources