IWM vs VYM: how much do they really overlap?
IWM (iShares Russell 2000 ETF, tracking the Russell 2000) and VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, tracking the FTSE High Dividend Yield) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of IWM's top 10 holdings also appear in VYM. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 280 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant.
The same companies, in both funds
These 0 holdings appear in both IWM and VYM. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in IWM | in VYM |
|---|
Only in IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that VYM doesn’t have:
| MOGA MOOG INC CLASS A | 0.38% |
| HUT HUT CORP | 0.37% |
| VSAT VIASAT INC | 0.35% |
| BTSG BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC | 0.35% |
| CYTK CYTOKINETICS INC | 0.35% |
| MXL MAXLINEAR INC | 0.34% |
| AGX ARGAN INC | 0.34% |
| UMBF UMB FINANCIAL CORP | 0.33% |
Only in VYM
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF — US high-dividend. Its biggest holdings that IWM doesn’t have:
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 8.51% |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 3.14% |
| XOM Exxon Mobil Corp. | 2.53% |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 2.24% |
| CSCO Cisco Systems Inc. | 1.98% |
| CAT Caterpillar Inc. | 1.67% |
| ABBV AbbVie Inc. | 1.59% |
| ORCL Oracle Corp. | 1.57% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
IWM and VYM hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~280 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — IWM: Jun 30, 2026 (iShares (BlackRock)); VYM: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard). Refreshed monthly. Overlap is measured across each fund’s largest holdings (top 50); the diffuse long tail barely moves the math.
See this for YOUR whole portfolio, free →IWM vs VYM — FAQ
- How much do IWM and VYM overlap?
- IWM and VYM overlap by approximately 0% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 0 of IWM's 10 largest holdings are also held by VYM. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both IWM and VYM?
- Because they hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 280 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VYM hold that IWM doesn't?
- VYM's largest holdings that IWM doesn't hold include AVGO, JPM, XOM, JNJ, CSCO. Its category is US high-dividend, versus IWM's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, IWM or VYM?
- IWM's top 10 holdings are 26% of its listed weight; VYM's are 44%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.