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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VYM +18.0%.

Which is cheaper, SLV or VYM?

VYM is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SLV vs VYM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SLV is a commodity fund and VYM an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VYM returned +18.0% against +14.9%.

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Net assets: $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust, and $78.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF.

SLV on its own →VYM on its own →

At a glance

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

+18.0%

VYM total return, 1 year

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

0.04%

VYM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VYM costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; VYM is 2.6 times larger.

SLV vs VYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLV	VYM
Return
Measure	SLV	VYM
Total return, 1 year	+14.9%	+18.0%
Drawdown
Measure	SLV	VYM
Below its high	53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SLV	VYM
What it tracks	Silver	FTSE High Dividend Yield Index
Cost and size
Measure	SLV	VYM
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.04%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$30.0bn	$78.9bn
Holdings
Measure	SLV	VYM
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		90%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		26.2%

Method

Side by side

SLV iShares Silver Trust VYM Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds silver Tracks an index of US high dividend

Total return, 1 year +14.9% +18.0%

Its benchmark over the same days +15.0% (SIVR) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SIVR not measured

Expense ratio 0.50% 0.04%

Holdings not counted 595

Net assets, SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 and VYM as of Sep 30, 2026 $26.9bn $78.9bn

SLV and VYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

VYM

VYM tracks an index of US high dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 595 positions, with the top ten at 26.2%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VYM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VYM +18.0%.
Which is cheaper, SLV or VYM?: VYM is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

SLV vs VTV FNDX vs SLV AVLV vs SLV HDV vs SLV GLDM vs VYM IAU vs VYM GLD vs VYM BWET vs VYM

Where to next

SLV on its own →VYM on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →VYM dividend history →VYM holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

iShares page for SLV ↗

VYM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VYM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VYM ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SLV against VYM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slv-vs-vym

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