---
title: "Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill."
url: "https://etf.net/news/schwab-s-dividend-etf-returned-22-8-in-a-year-its-income-rate-still-trails-a-one-month-bill-2026-10-02"
published_at: "2026-10-02T15:49:48.741Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-02T15:49:48.741Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.

In the year through Thursday, October 1, Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF returned 22.8% with dividends reinvested, while its 30-day SEC yield was 3.39% on September 30 and the one-month Treasury yield was 4.06% on October 1.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 2, 2026.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, SCHD, a fund of US dividend stocks, returned **22.8%** in the year through Thursday, October 1, with dividends reinvested. The share price rose 18.6% over that year, so most of the result was the price, not the payout.

SPY, a fund that holds the S&P 500, returned 15.5% over the same year. SCHD finished 7.3 percentage points ahead.

Schwab put the fund's 30-day SEC yield at 3.39% on September 30. That figure is the income from the last 30 days, after fees, stated as a yearly rate. The one-month Treasury yield was **4.06%** on October 1, so the bill paid more than SCHD.

On Wednesday, September 16, the Federal Reserve raised its target range by a quarter of a percentage point, to 3.75% to 4%. The bill yield sat just above the top of that range. The latest quarterly payment from SCHD was 2.3% above the same payment a year earlier. The bill's rate is the one the Fed just set, and it does not step up the way that dividend did.

One dividend-screen fund here does pay more than the bill.

## The yield that beats the bill

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF, SPYD, a fund of the highest-yielding companies in the S&P 500, tracks an index of 80 of those companies and charges 0.07%. It returned **7.7%** over that same year. State Street put its 30-day SEC yield at 4.60% as of September 23, above the bill's 4.06% on October 1.

Real estate is 24% of SPYD. Among 53 unleveraged US dividend-screen funds, it ranks fifth, and 45th of 53 on how it held up when markets fell. Unleveraged means the fund does not borrow to magnify the market.

Morningstar's Lan Anh Tran wrote on July 9, 2025 that the fund ranks stocks by their 12-month projected yield, takes the top 80, and does not screen out companies with falling prices that keep the dividend to calm shareholders.

## What the ranking weighs

On our ranking of those 53 funds, set against others that make the same promise, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF, DGRO, places first. It tracks the Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index. SCHD places second. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, VIG, which tracks the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, places third.

SCHD had the best year of the three. The ranking still puts DGRO first.

Cost is the heaviest weight. VIG is the cheapest, at 0.04%, and it still places third. SCHD charges 0.06%, ranks second on cost and second on how easily the shares trade, and sits 45th of 53 on concentration.

It holds 102 stocks. The ten largest are 41.6% of the fund, led by Texas Instruments at 4.7%. Healthcare, sellers of everyday goods, and energy are each a larger share than technology.

State Street's Ginger Perry wrote on July 27 that, through July 21, the Russell 1000 Value Index had beaten the Russell 1000 Growth Index by roughly 15% for the year so far. Technology, she wrote, was the largest contributor to that value return.

Schwab says the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which SCHD tracks, selects for the quality and staying power of the dividend, and for financial strength, not only a rising payout. Schwab also warns that a dividend-only fund can fall behind a fund free to own any stock, and that a company can cut or stop its dividend.

## Companies that raise the payout

DGRO charges 0.08%. The gap versus the 0.04% fee on VIG is $4 a year on $10,000. 67% of the money sits in the same stocks, at close to the same size.

DGRO returned 12.7% over the year. VIG returned 9.4%. On August 31, the 30-day SEC yield was 1.43% for VIG and 1.95% for DGRO. The latest quarterly payment was 7.5% above a year earlier at VIG, and 4.3% above at DGRO.

If you already hold one, the other mostly repeats it. DGRO leads the ranking and had the better year between them. VIG costs less.

## A wide US basket

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, VYM, tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index. It holds US stocks expected to pay above-average dividends, leaves out real estate trusts, and charges 0.04%. It returned 12.8%. Vanguard put its 30-day SEC yield at 2.20% as of August 31, still under the bill.

Only 22% of the weight overlaps with SCHD, and SCHD puts 5.9 times as much into the typical stock they both hold.

## Stocks outside the United States

Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF, VYMI, tracks the FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index, charges 0.07%, and returned 22.0%. It ranks first of 35 international dividend-screen funds. The latest quarterly payment was 16.7% above the same payment a year earlier.

If the rest of your money is in US stocks, VYMI is the dividend fund that adds the world. Financial companies are 44% of it, which matters if you already own a lot of international banks.

Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF, SCHY, runs a quality screen closer to SCHD. It charges 0.08%, returned 14.9%, and ranks fourth of those 35, and 29th on concentration.

Chart: **SCHD** and VYMI led; SPYD finished last

VYMI had the bigger year and the broader book. SCHY fits if you want the tighter screen and can live with the smaller year and the shorter list.

A dividend search also turns up funds that sell options. JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF, JEPI, holds US stocks and sells options, which adds cash and limits some of the gain if stocks rise fast. J.P. Morgan put its 30-day SEC yield at 7.44% as of August 31, and the fee is 0.35%. The extra cash comes from the options, so the fund answers a different question than a list of dividend stocks.

Start with the screen, not the 22.8% year: SPYD if the income rate has to beat the bill, DGRO if the payout can grow.

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/schwab-s-dividend-etf-returned-22-8-in-a-year-its-income-rate-still-trails-a-one-month-bill-2026-10-02. Please cite the page URL.