ETFs / VYM
What If You Had Invested in VYM 10 Years Ago?
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
VYM $159.80 ▼ -3.30% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in VYM in November 2016, today it would be worth
$2,915
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into VYM since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$113,155
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
VYM live price chart
VYM returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | $0.8870 | -9.5% | ||
| Jun 18, 2026 | $0.9800 | +13.7% | ||
| Mar 20, 2026 | $0.8620 | -9.0% | ||
| Dec 19, 2025 | $0.9470 | +12.5% | ||
| Sep 19, 2025 | $0.8420 | -2.3% | ||
| Jun 20, 2025 | $0.8620 | +1.4% | ||
| Mar 21, 2025 | $0.8500 | -11.8% | ||
| Dec 20, 2024 | $0.9640 | +13.3% | ||
| Sep 20, 2024 | $0.8510 | -16.9% | ||
| Jun 21, 2024 | $1.0240 | +56.1% | ||
| Mar 15, 2024 | $0.6560 | -40.4% | ||
| Dec 18, 2023 | $1.1000 | — |
VYM year by year
Best full year: 2013 (+30.1%). Worst: 2008 (-31.9%).
| Year | VYM | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +13.3% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +15.4% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +17.6% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +6.6% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -0.4% | -18.2% | Dividend payers held up much better than the broad market as rates rose. |
| 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% | |
| 2015 | +0.3% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +13.5% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +30.1% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +12.7% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +10.6% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +14.2% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +17.2% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -31.9% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. Banks, a big part of high-yield funds, were hit hardest. |
| 2007 | +1.4% | +5.1% |
VYM: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2006 (229 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 179 (78%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 5 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in May 2008, when it finished the year 35% ahead.
Worst drop
VYM's worst fall in this history was -51.8%, a loss of more than half, from May 2007 to February 2009. Getting back to the old high took until March 2012: 37 months from the bottom and 4.8 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $482 at the low.
VYM dividends
VYM paid $3.68 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $159.80 that is 2.30%, a moderate yield. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +3.8% a year, steadily. The yearly total did not fall once in the last ten years.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.50 | +0.2% | 2.44% |
| 2024 | $3.50 | +0.5% | 2.74% |
| 2023 | $3.48 | +7.0% | 3.12% |
| 2022 | $3.25 | +5.0% | 3.01% |
| 2021 | $3.10 | +6.5% | 2.76% |
| 2020 | $2.91 | +2.3% | 3.18% |
| 2019 | $2.84 | +7.3% | 3.03% |
| 2018 | $2.65 | +10.3% | 3.40% |
| 2017 | $2.40 | +8.8% | 2.80% |
| 2016 | $2.21 | +2.7% | 2.91% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
VYM dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 18, 2026 | $0.8870 | -9.5% |
| Jun 18, 2026 | $0.9800 | +13.7% |
| Mar 20, 2026 | $0.8620 | -9.0% |
| Dec 19, 2025 | $0.9470 | +12.5% |
| Sep 19, 2025 | $0.8420 | -2.3% |
| Jun 20, 2025 | $0.8620 | +1.4% |
| Mar 21, 2025 | $0.8500 | -11.8% |
| Dec 20, 2024 | $0.9640 | +13.3% |
| Sep 20, 2024 | $0.8510 | -16.9% |
| Jun 21, 2024 | $1.0240 | +56.1% |
| Mar 15, 2024 | $0.6560 | -40.4% |
| Dec 18, 2023 | $1.1000 | — |
About VYM
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Launched | November 2006 |
| Tracks | FTSE High Dividend Yield |
| Expense ratio | 0.06% |
| Holdings | About 550 U.S. dividend payers |
Fund details as of 2025. Check the issuer for the current expense ratio and holdings.
VYM holds U.S. companies with above-average dividend yields, excluding real estate trusts. With more than 500 holdings it is much broader than SCHD, so it is less affected by any one company's dividend cut.
The trade-off is that VYM screens on yield alone, without SCHD's quality and growth tests, so its dividend has tended to grow more slowly.
Questions about VYM
How much would $10,000 invested in VYM 20 years ago be worth today?
About $57,809 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 478.1% in total, or 9.2% a year.
When does VYM pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in March, June, September and December, $3.68 per share in total.
Did VYM beat the S&P 500?
No. Over the last 20 years it trailed by 1.4 percentage points a year: +9.2% a year for VYM against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was about the same as SPY's.