Is VSMAX or QYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

VSMAX currently yields 0.96% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. QYLD yields 11.92% with -2.1% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: QYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VSMAX and QYLD?

VSMAX has a forward dividend yield of 0.96% ($1.21/share annually). QYLD yields 11.92% ($2.04/share annually). The yield gap is 10.96 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VSMAX vs QYLD

VSMAX vs QYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

VSMAX yields 0.96% · QYLD yields 11.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 QYLD wins by $4.4K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 8

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VSMAX

● Live price

0.96%

Share price

$125.46

Annual div

$1.21

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.0K

Annual income

$102.42

Full VSMAX calculator →

QYLD

Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

11.92%

Share price

$17.15

Annual div

$2.04

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.4K

Annual income

$5,659.31

Full QYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — VSMAX vs QYLD

📍 QYLD pulled ahead of the other in Year 8

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	VSMAX	QYLD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, VSMAX + QYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VSMAX pays

QYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

VSMAX

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$81.79/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$87.06/yr

QYLD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$1,013.51/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$4,810.41/yr

At 15% tax rate, QYLD beats the other by $4,723.36/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of VSMAX + QYLD for your $10,000?

VSMAX: 50%QYLD: 50%

100% QYLD50/50100% VSMAX

Portfolio after 10yr

$23.2K

Annual income

$2,880.87/yr

Blended yield

12.41%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VSMAX buys

QYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for VSMAX or QYLD in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricVSMAXQYLD

Forward yield	0.96%	11.92% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$1.21	$2.04 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$21.0K	$25.4K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$102.42	$5,659.31 ✓
Total dividends collected	$996.00 ✓	$27.1K
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: VSMAX vs QYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VSMAX Portfolio	VSMAX Income/yr	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$10,796	$96.22	$10,352	$1,192.36	+$444.00 → VSMAX
2	$11,649	$97.09	$10,830	$1,347.57	+$819.00 → VSMAX
3	$12,562	$97.90	$11,460	$1,539.07	+$1.1K → VSMAX
4	$13,540	$98.67	$12,275	$1,777.84	+$1.3K → VSMAX
5	$14,588	$99.40	$13,323	$2,078.95	+$1.3K → VSMAX
6	$15,709	$100.08	$14,667	$2,463.34	+$1.0K → VSMAX
7	$16,909	$100.72	$16,396	$2,960.57	+$513.00 → VSMAX
8← crossover	$18,194	$101.32	$18,631	$3,612.97	$437.00 → QYLD
9	$19,570	$101.89	$21,548	$4,482.15	$2.0K → QYLD
10	$21,042	$102.42	$25,398	$5,659.31	$4.4K → QYLD

VSMAX vs QYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

VSMAX — Stock

This low-cost index fund provides broad exposure to the small-capitalization U.S. equity market. The fund seeks to track an index of small-sized companies. One of the fund’s primary risks is its focus on the small-cap arena, which is an often-volatile segment of the market. Investors looking to add a small-cap equity allocation to an already diversified portfolio may wish to consider this option.

Full VSMAX Calculator →

QYLD — ETF

The Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite V2 Index.

Full QYLD Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.