The Vanguard ETF offers something that similar dividend ETFs don't, but is that enough to make it worth owning?

As the name of the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF ( VYM 0.72% ) says, it is a dividend-centric exchange-traded fund (ETF). That puts it up against a long list of alternatives, with two of the most prominent being the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend Yield ETF ( SPYD -0.16% ) and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF ( SCHD -0.06% ) . How does the Vanguard ETF stack up? It depends on what you are looking for.

Dividend yields first

The Achilles' heel of the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF is its yield . At roughly 2.6%, it is well above the S&P 500 index's scant 1.2%. But it is far below the nearly 3.9% yield offered by the Schwab U.S. Dividend

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