The fund takes a conservative approach to international high dividend yields: firms are ranked by forecast yield over the next 12 months and those in the top half are selected. This relatively loose filter, combined with market cap-weighting, results in a large basket that doesn't depart from the broad market as radically as some competitors. REITs are excluded, in keeping with the conservative approach. Emerging market names are also eligible for inclusion. Overall, the fund provides balanced, comprehensive exposure to high-yield international stocks. To reduce turnover, the underlying index uses buffers during its annual reconstitution and rebalance. Vanguard uses a sampling approach to track the index.
