Many investors are feeling nervous about tech stocks. If you want to invest in something different than the prevailing artificial intelligence (AI) trade, high-yield dividend stocks and international stocks could be a good choice.
Buying stocks like these that are less involved in the AI trade could help you diversify right now. The Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF(VYMI-0.46%) is a well-diversified exchange-traded fund (ETF) that can support this strategy in more than one way. It owns 1,502 international stocks that tend to pay higher-than-average dividends. The ETF currently yields about 3.6%.
And many of the companies in the VYMI portfolio are in sectors quite different from those in the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index that has driven much of the recent AI boom. The top 10 holdings of VYMI are mostly international banks, major consumer staples companies, and pharmaceutical giants. These global businesses are not relying so much on AI.
Let’s look at how much you could earn in 25 years if you invest $1,000 in VYMI today.
VYMI: 10 years of 11.33% annualized returns
The Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF has delivered impressive gains in recent years, with annualized returns (by net asset value) of about 24% in the past year and 13.9% over the past five years.
VYMIVanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF
NASDAQ · As of 5:00 PM ET 10/30/26
Key data points
AUM$22.30B
Dividend yield3.67%
Expense ratio0.07%
Top holdings
HSBA.L1.81%
ROP.SW1.56%
SHEL.L1.48%
Over the longer term, the past 10 years since the fund’s February 2016 inception, this international ETF has delivered annualized returns of about 11.33%. There’s no guarantee that this will continue forever. But let’s assume you invest $1,000 in VYMI today, leave it alone to grow for the next 25 years, and it earns an average annual return of 11.33%.
After five years, you’d have $1,710. After 10 years, you’d have $2,925. After 15 years, you’d have $5,002. And after 25 years, your investment would grow to about $14,632.
