CDL vs SCHD

CDLBVictoryShares US Large Cap High Div Volatility Wtd ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

CDL CDL sizes its positions by volatility instead of company size: roughly 100 high-yielding US large caps, with the calmer names getting the wider berth. Income lands monthly.

SCHD The dividend fund that checks the balance sheet before it checks the yield. SCHD only considers companies with 10 straight years of payouts, then ranks the survivors on cash flow, return on equity and dividend growth. Quality gate first, income second, at six basis points.

Stated mandate

CDL The fund seeks to track the performance of the CEMP US Large Cap High Dividend 100 Volatility Weighted Index before fees and expenses. It normally invests at least 80% of net assets in stocks included in that index.

SCHD The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100TM Index.

Why people hold it

• CDL The index screens US large caps for high dividends, then weights the survivors by volatility, so a stock's slot is set by how it trades, not how big it is.
• Pays monthly, a smoother cadence than the calendar most equity income portfolios run on.
• Running since 2015 and still doing the advertised job: at least 80% of net assets in its index's names, tracked closely.
• Lands in the upper half of a crowded dividend-screen field, with the underlying basket among its stronger features.

• SCHD Charges 0.06% a year, near the floor for US equity ETFs and a fraction of what the typical dividend-screen fund costs.schwabassetmanagement.com
• The rulebook is strict: 10 consecutive years of dividends to qualify, then a composite rank on cash-flow-to-total-debt, return on equity, yield and five-year dividend growth.spglobal.com
• Index rules cap any single stock at 4.5% and any sector at 25%, so one hot name cannot quietly become the whole income stream.spglobal.com
• Running since 2011 and now among the largest, most heavily traded dividend ETFs, with tracking that stays very close to its index.

Worth knowing

• CDL The 0.39% fee sits right at the peer median, but big index-tracking rivals like SCHD (0.06%), VIG (0.04%) and DGRO (0.08%) run at a fraction of it.
• Thinly traded for the category, so spreads can be wider at the moment you place an order.
• A yield screen plus volatility weighting builds a portfolio that looks little like a cap-weighted index, so it moves on its own schedule.

• SCHD Roughly 100 names, every one a long-time dividend payer. The fast-growing non-payers that drive much of the US market are not eligible, by design.spglobal.com
• The yield and quality screens tilt it toward mature, cash-generating sectors, so it looks nothing like a total-market fund. Distributions land quarterly, not monthly.spglobal.com
• Not the absolute cheapest shelf item: VIG runs 0.04% and DIVB 0.05%, though both screen for dividends differently.

Full CDL profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠