Earlier quoted context omitted.
The zero fund I am familiar with (FZILX) has a once-a-year dividend schedule which I'm sure nets them a lot of money, vs paying out more frequently. If you want to unload, you can only do it once a year without throwing away your earned dividend.
That's not how dividends work.
Pays out once in Dec. If you buy in Feb and sell in Oct, you're not getting your dividend although you earned most of it... If you had VTI, you'd get 3 of them.