VHVG vs VHYL: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

Every figure here is in pounds — what you'd actually pocket buying on the London Stock Exchange. Fund fact sheets usually headline returns in US dollars, which can look very different in years when the pound moves against the dollar. Here's the full story, year by year.

VHVG tracks the FTSE Developed World IndexVHYL tracks the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index

What did the last 6 years do to £10,000?

You invest £10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted. Both funds are measured over the same 6 full years (2020–2025) — the longest stretch both were trading.

VHVG turned it into
£20,355
+12.58% per year on average · 20202025
VHYL turned it into
£16,832
+9.07% per year on average · 20202025
Difference
+£3,523
VHVG made more of the same money

VHVG vs VHYL, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
8
where both funds were trading
VHVG won
4
years
VHYL won
4
years
YearVHVGVHYLWinner
2026 (so far)+12.47%+12.85%VHYL
2025+13.85%+18.22%VHYL
2024+19.99%+11.23%VHVG
2023+17.54%+5.26%VHVG
2022-8.16%+5.95%VHYL
2021+22.64%+19.24%VHVG
2020+12.56%-3.74%VHVG
2019-17.91%+17.00%VHYL
2018-6.59%
2017+8.80%
2016+32.59%
2015-0.71%
2014+8.22%
2013-1.85%

VHVG vs VHYL in plain words

VHVG tracks the FTSE Developed World Index while VHYL follows the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VHVG charges 0.12% a year in running costs and VHYL charges 0.29% — VHVG is the cheaper fund to hold.

VHVG reinvests its dividends automatically (accumulating), while VHYL pays them out as cash (distributing). Across the 8 calendar years both funds were trading, VHVG finished the year ahead 4 times and VHYL 4 times. £10,000 invested at the start of 2020 was worth £20,355 in VHVG versus £16,832 in VHYL by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

VHVE is the London (USD) listing and VGVF the Xetra (EUR) line of the same fund, ISIN IE00BK5BQV03 — VHVG is its GBP line on the London Stock Exchange.

VGWD is the Xetra (EUR) line of the same fund, ISIN IE00B8GKDB10 — VHYL is its GBP line on the London Stock Exchange.

Fund facts: VHVG vs VHYL

FactVHVGVHYL
FundVanguard FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF (Acc)Vanguard FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield UCITS ETF (Dist)
TracksFTSE Developed World IndexFTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.12%0.29%
DividendsAccumulating — dividends reinvestedDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched24 Sept 201921 May 2013
ISINIE00BK5BQV03IE00B8GKDB10

Frequently asked

Is VHVG or VHYL better?

Across the 8 calendar years both funds were trading, VHVG finished the year ahead 4 times and VHYL 4 times. £10,000 invested at the start of 2020 was worth £20,355 in VHVG versus £16,832 in VHYL by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between VHVG and VHYL?

VHVG tracks the FTSE Developed World Index while VHYL follows the FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VHVG charges 0.12% a year in running costs and VHYL charges 0.29% — VHVG is the cheaper fund to hold. VHVG reinvests its dividends automatically (accumulating), while VHYL pays them out as cash (distributing).

What would £10,000 in VHVG have become?

£10,000 invested in VHVG at the start of 2020 grew to £20,355 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 12.6% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring VHVG or VHYL.