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

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +6.6% and VYM returned +17.6%, so VYM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, USMV or VYM?

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

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

By their latest filed holdings, 95% of USMV and 92% of VYM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 30% 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

USMV vs VYM: how they differ

USMV and VYM hold 30% of their weight in the same names, and VYM returned more over the year.

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

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, USMV and VYM hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions USMV and VYM both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding	USMV	VYM
EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION	1.60%	2.73%
CISCO SYSTEMS, INC.	1.81%	1.52%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON	1.44%	2.31%
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY	1.20%	1.28%
MERCK & CO., INC.	1.18%	1.14%
THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY	1.11%	1.45%
Pepsico, Inc.	1.02%	0.91%
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORAT	1.11%	0.90%
MCDONALD'S CORPORATION	1.25%	0.88%
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC.	1.49%	0.85%
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED	0.78%	1.07%
AT&T INC.	0.99%	0.76%

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in USMV	Only in VYM
NVIDIA CORPORATION 1.64%	JPMorgan Chase & Co 3.36%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 1.56%	Caterpillar Inc 1.73%
AMPHENOL CORPORATION 1.51%	Bank of America Corp 1.45%
MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC. 1.46%	Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The 1.08%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 1.42%	Wells Fargo & Co 1.07%
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED 1.36%	Morgan Stanley 0.91%
MCKESSON CORPORATION 1.31%	Citigroup Inc 0.89%
CENCORA, INC. 1.28%	Walt Disney Co/The 0.77%

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.

USMV and VYM on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol 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 Min Vol Factor	US high dividend
Total return, 1 year	+6.6%	+17.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−10.9 pts	+0.1 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.04%
Already in the S&P 500	94.8%	92.2%
Holdings	170	608

USMV in plain words

USMV is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 170 positions, with the top ten at 15.7%.

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, USMV or VYM?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +6.6% and VYM returned +17.6%, so VYM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, USMV or VYM?: USMV charges 0.15% a year and VYM charges 0.04%, so VYM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do USMV and VYM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 95% of USMV and 92% of VYM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 30% 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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources