Public research
US ETFs, side by side
Thirty US ETFs in twelve groups, compared on yield, fees, and size. Research only — not a buy list.
Figures as of 2026-10-16. Every number was checked against the issuer's official product page and at least one independent source before publication.
See your own holdings in the Portfolio console →Dividends & income
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCHDSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF · Schwab | 3.2% | 0.06% | ≈ $110B | Quarterly | Quality first: dividend payers screened on cash flow, payout strength and balance sheet — not yield alone.Built for: a quarterly income rhythm funded by the dividends the holdings pay themselves — a slower cadence whose amounts follow what the underlying businesses earn. |
| VYMVanguard High Dividend Yield ETF · Vanguard | 2.3% | 0.04% | ≈ $81B | Quarterly | The broad basket: 600+ above-average dividend payers, market-cap weighted, at a 0.04% fee.Built for: seeing the whole high-dividend segment in one basket — hundreds of payers, so the picture reflects the dividend market overall, not one selection style. |
| DGROiShares Core Dividend Growth ETF · BlackRock | 1.9% | 0.08% | ≈ $43B | Quarterly | Dividend growth over headline yield — five straight years of payout increases required, payout ratio capped at 75%.Built for: a distribution stream built to grow — the starting yield is lower because the screen first requires five straight years of payout increases. |
| JEPIJPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF · J.P. Morgan | 8.0% | 0.35% | ≈ $46B | Monthly | Large-cap stocks plus an options overlay on the S&P 500 — monthly income with lower volatility, and capped upside.Built for: monthly cash flow with a volatility buffer — option premiums smooth the ride, in exchange for capturing only part of strong rallies. |
| JEPQJPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF · J.P. Morgan | 11.5% | 0.35% | ≈ $45B | Monthly | The same premium-income playbook on the Nasdaq-100 — the highest payout here, and the most tech concentration.Built for: monthly cash flow from a tech-heavy basket — the premium income and the concentration come from the same source. |
Broad market core
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF · Vanguard | 1.1% | 0.03% | ≈ $1,060B | Quarterly | The S&P 500 — the 500 largest US companies — in a 0.03% wrapper. SPY tracks the same index; the two differ in fee, structure and trading volume, not in what they hold.Built for: the broad market itself at this page's lowest fee — the benchmark most US portfolios are measured against, paying a modest quarterly distribution out of large-cap dividends. |
| VTIVanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF · Vanguard | 1.0% | 0.03% | ≈ $704B | Quarterly | The entire US stock market in one fund — large, mid, small and micro caps, roughly 3,600 companies (Morningstar US Total Market Index; the index family was renamed from CRSP in 2026).Built for: owning the whole market rather than choosing a slice of it — the small-company tail is included, so this fund's path differs a little from the S&P 500's. |
| QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 · Invesco | 0.43% | 0.18% | ≈ $500B | Quarterly | The Nasdaq-100 in its most-traded wrapper — the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, weighted by market cap.Built for: Nasdaq-100 exposure where trading liquidity is the point — one of the most heavily traded ETFs in the US. The small distribution is a by-product of the index, not its purpose: these companies pay little out. |
| QQQMInvesco NASDAQ 100 ETF · Invesco | 0.45% | 0.15% | ≈ $112B | Quarterly | The same Nasdaq-100 index as QQQ — the same holdings — in a younger fund charging 0.15% instead of 0.18%.Built for: the same index held for the long term rather than traded — Invesco itself positions QQQM for buy-and-hold use and QQQ for liquidity and trading. The 0.03% fee gap is small each year and compounds across a long holding period. |
Style & momentum
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF · Vanguard | 0.4% | 0.03% | ≈ $238B | Quarterly | The growth half of US large caps (Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index) — the companies with the fastest-growing earnings and sales, and the lowest dividend payouts in the market.Built for: a deliberate tilt toward growth over income — the 0.4% yield is simply what growth companies pay; whatever this fund returns has to come from prices, not distributions. |
| VTVVanguard Value ETF · Vanguard | 1.9% | 0.03% | ≈ $189B | Quarterly | The value half of US large caps — established companies trading at lower multiples than the broad market, which is why its 1.9% yield is the highest in this group.Built for: the mirror image of the growth fund — slower-growing, cheaper-priced companies that hand more of their earnings back as dividends. |
| SPMOInvesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF · Invesco | 0.78% | 0.13% | ≈ $23B | Quarterly | Not the whole S&P 500 — the roughly 100 members with the strongest volatility-adjusted momentum (the S&P 500 Momentum Index), reselected twice a year.Built for: a rules-based momentum tilt on US large caps — the basket follows the market's recent leadership and is rebuilt every March and September, so its character changes as leadership rotates; momentum baskets can swing hard when leadership flips. |
International
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VXUSVanguard Total International Stock ETF · Vanguard | 2.4% | 0.05% | ≈ $163B | Quarterly | Everything outside the US in one fund (FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index) — developed and emerging markets, thousands of companies across more than 40 countries.Built for: the non-US half of a global portfolio — its 2.4% yield runs higher than US funds partly because overseas companies pay out more of their earnings. |
| EWYiShares MSCI South Korea ETF · BlackRock | 1.3% | 0.59% | ≈ $24B | Annually | South Korea in one fund (MSCI Korea 25/50 Index) — a market dominated by a few giants: Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix together make up a large share of the index.Built for: single-country exposure, for when the research question is about Korea specifically — its chip giants tie the fund closely to the semiconductor cycle. It pays once a year, and the 0.59% fee is the going rate for single-country funds. |
Bonds & cash-like
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF · BlackRock | 3.6% | 0.09% | ≈ $115B | Monthly | 0–3 month US Treasury bills (ICE 0-3 Month US Treasury Securities Index) — the shortest end of the yield curve, repriced as the Federal Reserve moves.Built for: cash that cannot sit still — a parking place for money waiting to be used, where the yield follows short-term rates and the price barely moves, by design. |
| BNDVanguard Total Bond Market ETF · Vanguard | 4.2% | 0.03% | ≈ $163B | Monthly | The whole US investment-grade bond market (Bloomberg US Aggregate Float Adjusted Index) — Treasuries, government-backed and corporate bonds in one fund.Built for: the bond-market counterpart to a total stock fund — monthly income from thousands of bonds, with a price that moves when interest rates move. |
| TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF · BlackRock | 4.9% | 0.15% | ≈ $48B | Monthly | Only the long end: US Treasury bonds with 20 or more years to maturity (ICE US Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index) — the most rate-sensitive corner of the bond market.Built for: a position on long-term interest rates themselves — when yields fall this fund's price jumps, and when yields rise it falls harder than any other bond fund on this page. |
Real estate & gold
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VNQVanguard Real Estate ETF · Vanguard | 3.7% | 0.13% | ≈ $38B | Quarterly | US real estate investment trusts (MSCI US Investable Market Real Estate 25/50 Index) — apartment, warehouse, retail and data-center landlords in one basket.Built for: property exposure without owning property — the 3.7% yield exists because REITs are required to distribute most of their taxable income to shareholders. |
| GLDSPDR Gold Shares · State Street | — | 0.40% | ≈ $141B | None | Not an index fund at all — a trust holding physical gold bars in vaults, tracking the LBMA gold price minus the cost of storage and insurance. It pays nothing, by design.Built for: gold exposure without storing gold — the only asset on this page whose value rests entirely on what the next buyer will pay, with no income along the way. |
Semiconductors
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMHVanEck Semiconductor ETF · VanEck | 0.20% | 0.35% | ≈ $73B | Annually | The 25 largest US-listed semiconductor companies (MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index), market-cap weighted — one name, NVIDIA, is about a fifth of the fund.Built for: a concentrated, unleveraged sector position — one industry, 25 names, and a single distribution each December. The 0.20% yield is incidental; nothing about this fund is built for income. |
| SOXXiShares Semiconductor ETF · BlackRock | 0.25% | 0.33% | ≈ $45B | Quarterly | 30 US-listed semiconductor companies (NYSE Semiconductor Index), modified market-cap weighted, with caps that limit how large any single name can grow inside the fund.Built for: semiconductor exposure in a slightly wider basket than SMH — 30 names instead of 25, with the largest weights capped, so the fund leans a little less on its single biggest company. |
| SOXLDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF · Direxion | 0.10% | 0.75% | ≈ $21B | Quarterly | Not a basket of chip stocks to own — a swap-based tool that targets 3x the DAILY return of the NYSE Semiconductor Index (the same index SOXX tracks), then resets the leverage and starts again the next day.Built for: a short-term trading instrument for people who monitor it daily — not a long-term holding. Because the 3x target resets every day, returns over weeks or months are path-dependent: in a sideways, choppy market the fund can lose substantial value even if the index finishes the period unchanged (volatility decay), and down days are tripled losses. Its 0.75% net expense ratio is also among the highest on this page.⚠ Leverage risk: this fund resets its leverage target daily, so in a choppy market its losses can compound quickly — a different risk structure from every unleveraged fund on this page. See the structural-risk section of the full disclaimer. Full disclaimer → |
Technology, software & AI
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLKState Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF · State Street | 0.4% | 0.08% | ≈ $125B | Quarterly | The technology slice of the S&P 500 (Technology Select Sector Index) — the index's tech companies only, with the largest names (Microsoft, NVIDIA) typically a third or more of the fund.Built for: US large-cap technology in index form — broader than the semiconductor funds above, narrower than the whole market, and concentrated at the top by construction. |
| IGViShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF · BlackRock | 0.02% | 0.38% | ≈ $15B | Semi-annually | North American software companies (S&P North American Expanded Technology Software Index) — over 100 names from enterprise software to interactive entertainment, and almost no dividends among them.Built for: software specifically, rather than technology in general — at a 0.02% yield, distributions are an afterthought; this is a price-exposure fund, paid out twice a year. |
| AIQGlobal X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF · Global X | 0.07% | 0.68% | ≈ $10B | Semi-annually | A global AI basket (Indxx Artificial Intelligence & Big Data Index) — chip makers, cloud platforms and software companies screened for AI exposure, across several countries.Built for: the AI theme in one ticker — broader than a semiconductor fund, narrower than a technology fund, at a 0.68% fee that reflects a specialised, rules-screened index. It pays twice a year. |
Cybersecurity
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIBRFirst Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF · First Trust | 0.4% | 0.58% | ≈ $19B | Quarterly | Cybersecurity companies worldwide (Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index) — the firms paid to defend networks, screened and weighted by a cybersecurity-relevance score.Built for: a single-theme position on security spending — narrower than a technology fund and priced like one: 0.58% for a specialised index of a few dozen names. |
Photonics & optics
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LYTERoundhill Photonics & Optics ETF · Roundhill | — | 0.65% | ≈ $0.2B | Annually | Photonics and optics — the companies making lasers, optical components and the light-based links inside AI data centers. Actively managed (there is no index), and new: it launched in August 2026.Built for: a very small, very new fund (about $0.2B) on a narrow industrial theme — it has not made a distribution yet, and its 0.65% fee is the price of an actively managed niche. |
Crypto exposure
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBITiShares Bitcoin Trust ETF · BlackRock | — | 0.25% | ≈ $67B | None | A trust holding actual bitcoin, priced off the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate — it is not a registered investment company under the 1940 Act, and it holds nothing else. No distributions.Built for: bitcoin exposure inside a brokerage account — the 0.25% sponsor fee buys custody and simplicity in place of holding the asset directly. |
Leveraged & single-stock
SOXL, in the semiconductors group above, belongs to this same product family — a 3x daily-reset fund built on an index. The two funds here apply the same daily-reset structure to the Nasdaq-100 and to a single stock.
| Fund | Yield (trailing 12 mo) | Expense ratio | Fund size | Payouts | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ · ProShares | 0.7% | 0.78% | ≈ $38B | Quarterly | 3x the DAILY move of the Nasdaq-100, delivered through swaps and reset every evening — built on the same index as QQQ, but a different instrument from QQQ itself.Built for: a short-term trading tool for positions monitored daily — like SOXL above, its returns over weeks are path-dependent, and a choppy Nasdaq can erode it even when the index ends the period unchanged.⚠ Leverage risk: this fund resets its leverage target daily, so in a choppy market its losses can compound quickly — a different risk structure from every unleveraged fund on this page. See the structural-risk section of the full disclaimer. Full disclaimer → |
| TSLLDirexion Daily TSLA Bull 2X ETF · Direxion | 10.4% | 0.83% | ≈ $4B | Quarterly | 2x the DAILY move of a single stock — Tesla — through swaps, reset daily. There is no index and no diversification: one company's stock, doubled.Built for: the most concentrated instrument on this page. Read the yield with care: the 10.4% trailing figure is an artefact of one extra-large distribution in December 2025 — its regular quarterly payouts are small, so the number does not describe a steady income stream.⚠ Leverage risk: this fund resets its leverage target daily, so in a choppy market its losses can compound quickly — a different risk structure from every unleveraged fund on this page. See the structural-risk section of the full disclaimer. Full disclaimer → |
How to read these tables
Two different kinds of money. SCHD, VYM and DGRO pay out of company dividends. JEPI and JEPQ also collect option premiums — that is why their headline yields are higher, and the trade-off is capped upside and a different tax mix.
Yield moves. It is the last twelve months of actual distributions divided by today's price, so it changes as prices move. It is a record of what was paid, not a promise of what will be paid.
The fee is the one number that never moves. The gap between 0.03% and 0.83% — the lowest and highest fees on this page — is charged every year, in good markets and bad, and compounds over time.
Sources: issuer product pages (Schwab, Vanguard, Invesco, BlackRock, State Street, J.P. Morgan, Amplify, VanEck, First Trust, Global X, ProShares, Direxion, Roundhill) cross-checked with StockAnalysis, ETF Database, MarketBeat, Barchart and Zacks, October 2026. Where sources disagreed, the issuer figure was used.
How to research a dividend ETF
The dividend group above is one worked example. The same six checks apply to any dividend-paying ETF — including funds that are not on this page.
- Where the money comes from
- Dividend funds distribute the dividends their companies pay. Option-income funds also sell options and hand over the premiums. Both are called yield, but the source is different — and the source decides what is given up to produce it.
- The expense ratio
- The fee is charged every year, in full, whether distributions rise or fall — and it compounds. Across ten years, the distance between a 0.03% fee and a 0.83% fee becomes a real share of the income.
- Fund size and liquidity
- Bigger funds usually trade with narrower bid-ask spreads, and an issuer is less likely to close a fund that holds billions. Size is not a quality score — it tells you how easily you can trade, and how likely the fund is to still exist in ten years.
- Payout frequency
- Monthly or quarterly changes only the rhythm of cash arriving. Across a full year, the schedule by itself creates no extra income — it changes when the money lands, not how much a fund's holdings produce.
- The index and the selection rules
- Most funds follow a written rulebook: which companies qualify, how they are weighted, how often the list is rebuilt. The rules — not the brand name — decide what you actually own, so the methodology page is worth reading before the marketing page.
- Yield is a moving number
- Trailing yield is the past twelve months of distributions divided by today's price. When the price falls, the printed yield rises even if the payout never changed — a high number can be a falling price wearing a disguise.
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Research and education only. This page is not investment advice, not a recommendation, and not a promise of returns. Past distributions do not predict future ones. Read the full disclaimer before acting on anything here.
Structural risk, in one line: option income caps the upside it trades for yield, and leveraged ETFs — a different product type — reset daily, so their losses can compound fast. Both are covered in the full disclaimer.
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