Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF

Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (VYMI) is an index fund that tracks the FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index: companies outside the US, in developed and emerging markets, that are forecast to pay above-average dividends. It charges 0.07% a year, below the 0.17% average for similar funds, and its dividends over the 12 months to October 29, 2026 equaled a 3.66% yield, paid quarterly.

• Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, VYMI returned +23.2%, 1st of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +13.3% and its 10-year +10.9%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.1% and regained its old high 8.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-12.7%); its best was 2025 (+38.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 39% (Jan 26, 2018 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Jan 6, 2021.

Living on VYMI: its income record, cuts, and how much a $1,000 monthly income takes →

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 1,564 securities; the ten largest made up 13.81% of assets.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $921.1M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.38%, -0.73%, +5.28%.

VYMI is the exchange-traded share class of Vanguard International High Dividend Yield Index Fund. It seeks to track the FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index, which focuses on companies in developed and emerging markets outside the US that are forecast to have above-average dividend yields (a stock's yearly dividends divided by its price). Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are left out.

Rather than owning every index stock, the fund uses sampling: it holds a range of securities that, together, match the index on key risk factors and other traits, with at least 80% of net assets in index stocks. As of July 31, 2026, that meant 1,564 holdings, the 10 largest totaling only 13.81% of assets. HSBC (1.91%), Roche (1.60%) and Royal Bank of Canada (1.53%) led the list. Japan (11.9%), the UK (11.2%) and Canada (9.0%) were the biggest country weights, and the prospectus flags financial stocks as a significant part of the index.

There is no leverage or options strategy. On the same date, cash was 0.91%, and futures and currency contracts came to about 0.01%. Turnover, the share of holdings replaced in a year, was a low 9%, per the February 2026 prospectus. Because the stocks are priced in foreign currencies, exchange-rate swings against the dollar can add to gains or losses.

• VYMI charges 0.07% a year, versus an average of 0.17% for the similar funds below (5th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.05% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $7 in the first year and $90 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its defining feature is quarterly dividend income from non-US companies, with a 3.66% yield over the 12 months to October 29, 2026, at a 0.07% yearly cost.

VYMI could supply dividend income from non-US stocks: its dividends over the 12 months to October 29, 2026 equaled a 3.66% yield, paid quarterly. It costs 0.07% a year, about $90 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. But it is a stock fund. Launched in 2016, it has no 2008 record. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.1% in about a month and recovered by December 2020; in 2022 it dropped 24.1% and didn't recover until December 2023. Its worst calendar year was 2018, down 12.39%, and its deepest decline, 39% from January 2018 to March 2020, wasn't erased until January 2021.

Dividends can be cut, and anyone drawing cash near the March 2020 low was taking it from shares down more than a third. Past results don't predict future returns, and a retirement plan needs to look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.