# How Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/vym
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on VYM alone. It places VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where VYM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: VYM's full trading record, from November 2006 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, VYM rose 5.1% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. On the flip side, VYM sits 3.0% below its record high, and the S&P 500 is similarly close to its own.
- **Fund or market?:** VYM rose 1.7% over the past 3 months, 2.2 points behind the S&P 500, which rose 3.9%. Its similar funds did not move as one over the past 3 months: SCHD (Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF) rose 6.8%, while DVY (iShares Select Dividend ETF) was flat.
- **Long term:** VYM turned $10,000 into $30,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. VYM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in five of its 19 calendar years.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, VYM fell 15.8%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500, and less than similar funds such as VIG (Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, 20.4%). VYM fell less than the S&P 500 in three of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (15.8% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, VYM has a correlation of 0.82 over 5 years, more closely than 68% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the S&P 500 had a down month, VYM usually fell with it (20 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** HDV (iShares Core High Dividend ETF) earned more than VYM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.9% a year at 13.0% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) earned more than VYM over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only three of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VYM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them HDV (iShares Core High Dividend ETF), LVHI (Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF) and SIXA (ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in VYM have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in VYM over the past 19 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of VYM over the same span and VYM's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in VYM at the end of September 2007 would have grown to $51,001 by September 2026, less than the $70,725 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of VYM, and NVDA finished highest, at $2,767,416.

## VYM at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- VYM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2006 was 57.0%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 19 full calendar years, VYM's best was 2013, when it returned 30.1%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 31.9%. It lost money in three of those years.
- VYM is 3.0% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Dividend & Income (Asset Management - Income)
- Trading since: November 16, 2006
- Assets: $96B
- Expense ratio: 0.04%
- Volatility (5 years): 13.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.85
- Worst decline ever: −57.0%, from October 9, 2007 to March 5, 2009; back at its high by March 13, 2012

| Period | VYM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +1.1% |
| 3 months | +1.7% |
| 6 months | +5.1% |
| year to date | +13.3% |
| 1 year | +16.9% |
| 3 years | +72.8% |
| 5 years | +71.1% |
| 10 years | +208% |

## VYM against the whole market

Where VYM ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does VYM rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks VYM on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), VYM ranks in the top 16% of the 1,560 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets.

| Measure | VYM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +16.9% | 630 of 2,485 (top 26%) |
| 3-year return | +72.8% | 724 of 1,949 (top 38%) |
| 5-year return | +71.1% | 375 of 1,560 (top 25%) |
| 10-year return | +208% | 264 of 958 (top 28%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 13.8% | 526 of 1,560 (top 34%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.85 | 254 of 1,560 (top 17%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −35.2% | 355 of 951 (top 38%) |

### What has beaten VYM on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Three ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than VYM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half VYM's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 20% less than VYM's 13.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.85 for VYM.
- Among VYM's popular alternatives, HDV is in the region. HDV earned 12.9% a year against 11.3% a year for VYM, at 13.0% volatility, 6% less than VYM's 13.8%.

### Is there a better investment than VYM?

The table below lists investments that beat VYM over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among VYM's popular alternatives, HDV earned more than VYM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.9% a year at 13.0% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than VYM over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only three of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VYM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them HDV, LVHI and SIXA.

The 3 strongest of 3 investments that beat VYM over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with VYM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VYM: Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (this page) |  | +11.3% | 13.8% | 0.85 | −35.2% | +208% |  |  |
| SIXA: ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF | Broad Market | +12.8% | 12.7% | 1.01 | −18.4% | — | 0.95 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.79 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +12.9% | 13.0% | 1.00 | −37.0% | +172% | 0.90 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## VYM against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against VYM, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do VYM's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Four of the 23 popular alternatives, led by HDV, DLN and VTV, were both more rewarding and calmer than VYM over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, VYM returned 11.3% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with lower volatility (13.8% against 17.1%).

### Has VYM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares VYM with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Seven of the 23 popular alternatives, led by VTV, DLN and FDL, outperformed VYM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- VTV outperformed VYM in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- DGRW earned more for the risk it took than VYM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of VYM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VYM: Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (this page) | +16.9% | +72.8% | +71.1% | +208% |  |  | 0.85 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | +22.5% | +77.9% | +76.6% | +235% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.90 |
| DLN: WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Dividend Fund | +16.9% | +75.2% | +78.2% | +231% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.95 |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | +25.9% | +82.9% | +91.8% | +199% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.98 |
| RDVY: First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF | +20.0% | +87.7% | +71.0% | +322% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.67 |
| [QUAL](https://easycompare.io/research/qual): iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | +16.4% | +76.9% | +71.5% | +293% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.71 |
| DTD: WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend Fund | +16.6% | +73.0% | +74.7% | +217% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.90 |
| VYMI: Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF | +24.3% | +93.7% | +86.1% | +176% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.92 |
| DGRW: WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund | +12.8% | +65.2% | +74.6% | +276% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| [DGRO](https://easycompare.io/research/dgro): iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF | +18.1% | +74.2% | +68.0% | +267% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.83 |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | +33.0% | +67.5% | +59.1% | +252% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | +26.8% | +71.8% | +83.3% | +172% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.00 |
| DHS: WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Fund | +19.9% | +70.3% | +76.2% | +156% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.89 |
| [VIG](https://easycompare.io/research/vig): Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | +13.7% | +67.0% | +64.0% | +258% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| NOBL: ProShares - S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF | +14.1% | +43.3% | +37.3% | +172% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| DVY: iShares Select Dividend ETF | +16.9% | +69.9% | +58.4% | +172% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| SDY: State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | +14.3% | +51.0% | +44.0% | +157% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| DES: WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund | +18.1% | +54.4% | +38.2% | +105% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |
| [JEPI](https://easycompare.io/research/jepi): JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF | +8.7% | +38.1% | +43.3% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| FVD: First Trust Value Line Dividend Index Fund | +10.2% | +45.3% | +34.3% | +134% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.53 |
| SPHD: Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | +9.2% | +51.0% | +42.3% | +103% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| DON: WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund | +11.6% | +51.5% | +43.7% | +139% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.51 |
| SPYD: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF | +14.1% | +61.6% | +44.4% | +125% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [AGG](https://easycompare.io/research/agg): iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | −1.9% | +16.2% | −1.5% | +13.3% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.02 |

### How did VYM do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2007, along with where VYM ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- VYM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in four of its 19 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, VYM finished in the top quarter in six of 19 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 5 of 24.
- Among its popular alternatives, RDVY came out ahead of VYM most often, in seven of the 11 years both traded.

| Year | VYM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +15.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +17.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +6.6% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −0.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +26.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +1.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +24.1% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −5.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +16.4% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +17.0% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How VYM has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were VYM's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- The slowest recovery came after VYM fell 57.0% from October 2007 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until March 2012, three years later.
- In three of VYM's five worst declines, it fell less than the S&P 500 did over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −57.0% | October 9, 2007 | March 5, 2009 | March 13, 2012 | −54.7% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −35.2% | January 17, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | December 31, 2020 | −32.4% | Covid crash |
| −16.2% | January 26, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 12, 2019 | −16.7% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −15.8% | April 20, 2022 | September 30, 2022 | November 30, 2022 | −19.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −14.5% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 30, 2025 | −18.8% |  |

### How did VYM do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far VYM, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- Among its popular alternatives, AGG held up best, falling less than VYM in all nine crashes they both traded through.
- VYM fell less than the S&P 500 in four of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when VYM fell 15.8% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | VYM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −57.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.3% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −10.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −16.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −34.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −15.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does VYM move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- VYMI took just 80% of the S&P 500's losses, against 88% for VYM, while still keeping 75% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, VYM captured 81% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 88% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.82. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.
- Eight of the 22 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than VYM's 0.93, led by DGRW, VIG and DGRO.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VYM: Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (this page) | 81.0% | 88.0% | 0.82 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 86.0% | 91.0% | 0.86 |
| DLN: WisdomTree U.S. LargeCap Dividend Fund | 85.0% | 89.0% | 0.85 |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | 79.0% | 86.0% | 0.77 |
| RDVY: First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF | 107% | 112% | 1.10 |
| [QUAL](https://easycompare.io/research/qual): iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | 98.0% | 102% | 1.00 |
| DTD: WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend Fund | 85.0% | 92.0% | 0.87 |
| VYMI: Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF | 75.0% | 80.0% | 0.74 |
| DGRW: WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 91.0% | 93.0% | 0.88 |
| [DGRO](https://easycompare.io/research/dgro): iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF | 88.0% | 90.0% | 0.86 |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | 86.0% | 91.0% | 0.82 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 71.0% | 80.0% | 0.71 |
| DHS: WisdomTree U.S. High Dividend Fund | 71.0% | 81.0% | 0.74 |
| [VIG](https://easycompare.io/research/vig): Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | 85.0% | 86.0% | 0.84 |
| NOBL: ProShares - S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF | 80.0% | 97.0% | 0.84 |
| DVY: iShares Select Dividend ETF | 76.0% | 88.0% | 0.81 |
| SDY: State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF | 75.0% | 91.0% | 0.80 |
| DES: WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund | 84.0% | 119% | 1.05 |
| FVD: First Trust Value Line Dividend Index Fund | 68.0% | 82.0% | 0.72 |
| SPHD: Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF | 67.0% | 90.0% | 0.78 |
| DON: WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund | 84.0% | 110% | 1.01 |
| SPYD: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF | 78.0% | 103% | 0.91 |
| [AGG](https://easycompare.io/research/agg): iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | 12.0% | 17.0% | 0.14 |

### What diversifies VYM?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in VYM into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 21% over the past 5 years while keeping its annual return (+11.6% for VYM alone, +11.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and GLD have moved largely independently of VYM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in two of the three calendar years in which VYM lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with VYM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in VYM's 3 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.47 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 3 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.46 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 0 of 3 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.26 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 1 of 3 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.48 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 0 of 3 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.18 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 3 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.30 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 3 |
| IYW: iShares U.S. Technology ETF | 0.49 | +138% | 26.6% | 0.79 | 0 of 3 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.38 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 3 |

## Common questions

### What was VYM's worst drawdown?

VYM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2006 was 57.0%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high. Because VYM launched in November 2006, that record does not include the dot-com bust.

### What were VYM's best and worst years?

Over 19 full calendar years, VYM's best year was 2013, when it returned 30.1%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -31.9%.

### Is there a better investment than VYM?

Among VYM's popular alternatives, HDV earned more than VYM with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.9% a year at 13.0% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than VYM over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.3% a year at 13.8%.

### Is VYM more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. VYM's volatility over the past 5 years was 13.8%, 80% of the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, VYM's return lands within 13.8% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is VYM's Sharpe ratio?

VYM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.85, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so VYM earned more for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is VYM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, VYM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.82 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against VYM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a VYM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to VYM?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, seven outperformed VYM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: VTV, DLN and FDL.

### Did VYM outperform the S&P 500?

VYM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of 19 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +15.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did VYM do in stock market crashes?

VYM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in two. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when VYM fell 15.8% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies VYM?

These had a low correlation with VYM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.47), SMH (correlation 0.46) and GLD (correlation 0.26); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.37), CLS (correlation 0.38) and FIX (correlation 0.47). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv)
- [iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/qual)
- [iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dgro)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vig)
- [JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jepi)
- [iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/agg)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/vym
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against VYM live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=VYM&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research