The first thing to know about Vanguard High Dividend Yield (VYM on the ticker) is that it is a large-cap ETF that promises high dividend sharing quarterly. Now, know that unless you are able to invest a serious amount of money, the dividends will not pay your bills, however, buying into a stock that pays dividends is always smart because whether the stock goes up or down, you the investor still get those quarterly droppings which can be later used for re-investing.
Second thing to know is what it holds. An ETF is basically a mutual fund that plays like a stock. That means that there is no minimum investment to be made here. When buying a fund like this it is important to look at what stocks the fund is holding. With VYM the top ten holdings account for 32.5% of the fund. These companies are:
1 Exxon Mobil Corp. 2 Microsoft Corp. 3 Procter & Gamble Co. 4 Johnson & Johnson 5 General Electric Co. 6 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 7 JPMorgan Chase & Co. 8 AT&T; Inc. 9 Pfizer Inc. 10 Chevron Corp.
Notice that all of these companies are survivors of the economic crisis and not only that but they are going to come out probably stronger since many of their competitors are either bankrupt or are simply hurting financially and are all considered to be staples for their respective industries and all pay dividends.
Third thing to know is that Vanguard is like the Mercedes of stock funds. Buying into an ETF that is run by Vanguard is far more stable than that of Charles Schwab or many other popular investing companies. They have the talent and the prestige and experience to back their funds.
when does VYM pay dividends?
VYM pays dividends on a quarterly basis, usually in March, June, September, and December. The last Ex-dividend date was 09/21/20 and paid a $0.705 dividend a small decrease from the year before($0.786) but with all things considered not bad at all, especially in a year where the majority of large-caps have been slashing dividends.
Dividend History
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2020 Total: 2.097
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2019 Total: 2.842
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2018 Total: 2.649
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2017 Total: 2.401
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2016 Total: 2.206
High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) 2015 Total: 2.149
For more information on VYM or other Vanguard ETF’s visit www.vanguard.com
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