DVY vs SCHD

DVYBiShares Select Dividend ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

DVY One of the original US dividend ETFs (2003). It starts with the high yielders, then makes them prove they can keep paying, landing on about 100 names from a rules-based screen rather than a market-cap sweep.

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

DVY The Fund tracks an index of relatively high dividend-paying U.S. equities, using a rules-based selection of high-yielding stocks with dividend sustainability and liquidity requirements.

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

• DVY Launched in 2003, one of the first dividend ETFs on the market, and today a multi-billion-dollar fund with two decades of live history behind the strategy.ishares.com
• The index screens for dividend sustainability and liquidity, not just a fat yield, so a name has to show it can keep the checks coming to get in.ishares.com
• Tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closely, trades with everyday liquidity, and distributes quarterly.
• Among the stronger implementations in the US dividend-screen crowd: the fund delivers the mandate its documents describe, without structural asterisks.

• 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

• DVY At 0.38% it sits near the middle of dividend screeners, but rivals like SCHD (0.06%) and VIG (0.04%) run their versions for a fraction of the fee.
• A yield-first screen of roughly 100 stocks leans toward mature, income-heavy industries, so sector weights can look nothing like a broad market fund.
• US equities only. Foreign dividend payers sit outside the mandate.

• 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 DVY profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠