EQIN vs SCHD

EQINBColumbia U.S. Equity Income ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

EQIN A compact take on U.S. dividend payers: roughly 100 names chasing income plus capital appreciation, not raw yield. Priced under the typical dividend screener, though the category's giants cost less still.

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

EQIN The Fund seeks total return through current income and capital appreciation.

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

• EQIN At 0.35% a year, it undercuts the typical U.S. dividend screener, where the median sits at 0.39%.
• About 100 holdings, so each name carries real weight instead of being diluted across a sprawling index. Income is paid out quarterly.
• The portfolio stays close to its stated job: total return from current income and capital appreciation in U.S. dividend-paying stocks. No style drift dressed up as income.
• Trading since 2016 and standing in the upper half of a crowded field of roughly 50 U.S. dividend-screen ETFs.

• 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

• EQIN Thinly traded next to the category's heavyweights, so bid/ask spreads can be wider, especially on big or hurried orders.
• It beats the median on cost, not the leaders: VIG runs 0.04% and SCHD 0.06%. That gap compounds.
• Assets sit in the mid-size range rather than category-giant territory, which usually travels with lighter trading volume.

• 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 EQIN profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠