Is VYM or VRTS a better dividend investment in 2026?

VYM currently yields 2.41% with a 7.8% 5-year dividend growth rate. VRTS yields 7.14% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: VRTS offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VYM and VRTS?

VYM has a forward dividend yield of 2.41% ($3.51/share annually). VRTS yields 7.14% ($9.30/share annually). The yield gap is 4.73 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VYM vs VRTS

VYM vs VRTS: Dividend Comparison 2026

VYM yields 2.41% · VRTS yields 7.14%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 VRTS wins by $50590.60M in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VYM

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

● Live price

2.41%

Share price

$145.48

Annual div

$3.51

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$27.8K

Annual income

$278.55

Full VYM calculator →

VRTS

● Live price

7.14%

Share price

$130.20

Annual div

$9.30

5Y div CAGR

100%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$50590.63M

Annual income

$49,265,648,570.14

Full VRTS calculator →

Portfolio growth — VYM vs VRTS

📍 VRTS pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	VYM	VRTS
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, VYM + VRTS cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VYM pays

VRTS pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

VYM

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

$205.23/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$236.77/yr

VRTS

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

$607.14/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$41,875,801,284.62/yr

At 15% tax rate, VRTS beats the other by $41,875,801,047.85/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of VYM + VRTS for your $10,000?

VYM: 50%VRTS: 50%

100% VRTS50/50100% VYM

Portfolio after 10yr

$25295.33M

Annual income

$24,632,824,424.34/yr

Blended yield

97.38%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on VRTS right now

VYM

No analyst data

VRTS

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Hold

Price Target

$167.67

+28.8% upside vs current

Range: $142.00 — $206.00

Altman Z

0.9

Piotroski

5/9

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VYM buys

VRTS buys

No recent congressional trades found for VYM or VRTS in the last 90 days.

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

MetricVYMVRTS

Forward yield	2.41%	7.14% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$3.51	$9.30 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	100% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$27.8K	$50590.63M ✓
Annual income after 10y	$278.55	$49,265,648,570.14 ✓
Total dividends collected	$2.6K	$50499.69M ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	ETF	Stock

Year-by-year: VYM vs VRTS ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VYM Portfolio	VYM Income/yr	VRTS Portfolio	VRTS Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,151	$241.44	$12,129	$1,428.57	$978.00 → VRTS
2	$12,413	$246.79	$16,216	$3,238.60	$3.8K → VRTS
3	$13,794	$251.79	$25,445	$8,093.62	$11.7K → VRTS
4	$15,306	$256.47	$50,964	$23,737.87	$35.7K → VRTS
5	$16,960	$260.84	$143,400	$88,868.92	$126.4K → VRTS
6	$18,768	$264.92	$620,832	$467,394.11	$602.1K → VRTS
7	$20,745	$268.71	$4,446,571	$3,782,280.18	$4.43M → VRTS
8	$22,905	$272.24	$55,392,819	$50,634,987.90	$55.37M → VRTS
9	$25,265	$275.51	$1,238,301,169	$1,179,030,852.41	$1238.28M → VRTS
10	$27,842	$278.55	$50,590,630,820	$49,265,648,570.14	$50590.60M → VRTS

VYM vs VRTS: Complete Analysis 2026

VYM — ETF

Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, which measures the investment return of common stocks of companies characterized by high dividend yields. Provides a convenient way to track the performance of stocks that are forecasted to have above-average dividend yields. Follows a passively managed, full-replication approach.

Full VYM Calculator →

VRTS — Stock

Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to individual and institutional clients. It launches separate client focused equity and fixed income portfolios. The firm launches equity, fixed income, and balanced mutual funds for its clients. It invests in the public equity, fixed income, and real estate markets. The firm also invests in exchange traded funds. It employs a multi manager approach for its products. The firm employs quantitative analysis to make its investments. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolios against the S&P 500 Index. The firm conducts in-house research to make its investments. Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Hartford, Connecticut.

Full VRTS 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.