FDL vs SPYD: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund

FDLCNYSE Arca

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

SPYDANYSE Arca

Overlap

43.0%by weight

Expense ratio

SPYD −0.36pt a year

FDL0.43%SPYD0.07%

Avg volume · 30D

SPYD 1.3×the volume

FDL751KSPYD1M

10Y return · a year

FDL +3.0pt

FDL+11.9%SPYD+8.9%

FDL vs SPYD Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+99.6%FDL+52.1%SPYD

Expense ratio: FDL 0.43%; SPYD 0.07%, better
Fund size: FDL $8.39B; SPYD $7.61B
1Y total return: FDL +31.1%, better; SPYD +20.6%
Yield (12M): FDL 3.60%; SPYD 4.20%, better
Holdings: FDL 101; SPYD 81
Avg volume (30D): FDL 751K sh; SPYD 1M sh, better
NAV per share: FDL $53.81; SPYD $48.88
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FDL, SPYD, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FDL	SPYD
Cost30% weight	D29	A88Higher
Mission25% weight	B64	A88Higher
Risk15% weight	A73Higher	C40
Tradability15% weight	A72	A92Higher
Holdings10% weight	F24	A73Higher
Durability5% weight	A79	A83Higher

Rank among US Dividend Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FDL and SPYD are both graded against the same 52 US Dividend Index funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Dividend Index⁠

Category · 52 funds

See all 52 ›

SPYD ranks 4th and FDL 30th of 52 funds in the US Dividend Index Category.

Rank 1ADGROiShares Core Dividend Growth ETFScore 86
Rank 2ASCHDSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETFScore 81
Rank 3ADIVBiShares Core Dividend ETFScore 80
Rank 4ASPYDState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETFScore 79
Rank 5AVIGVanguard Dividend Appreciation ETFScore 78
Rank 29CFVDFirst Trust Value Line Dividend Index FundScore 54
Rank 30CFDLFirst Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index FundScore 52
Rank 30CPFMInvesco Dividend Achievers ETFScore 52

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FDLCFirst Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund

SPYDAState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

In short

FDL FDL doesn't weight by company size or by yield. It weights by dividend dollars, so America's biggest cash payers carry the most weight. Roughly 100 high-yield names, screened for payouts they can keep funding, running since 2006.

SPYD Most dividend ETFs hunt for companies that keep raising payouts. SPYD skips the courtship and goes straight for the yield: roughly 80 high-dividend names out of the S&P 500, for 0.07% a year.

Stated mandate

FDL The fund is an exchange-traded index fund seeking to replicate the price and yield of the Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index before fees and expenses.

SPYD The fund seeks to provide returns that generally correspond to the total return of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

FDL Weight follows the checkbook: positions are sized by the dollar value of dividends paid, with any single name capped at 10% and all 5%-plus names capped at 50% combined.contentstack.io
The screen is about payout durability, not just headline yield: stocks need a consistent payment record and the ability to sustain it before the top 100 yielders are taken.yahoo.com
Trading since 2006, a multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively and pays on a quarterly schedule.
Lands in the upper half of a US dividend-screen peer group of roughly 50 funds.

SPYD 0.07% a year against a 0.39% median across dividend-screen peers. It undercuts DGRO's 0.08% and sits a hair above SCHD.
A pure yield screen, not a growth screen. Where VIG and DGRO buy payout raisers, SPYD takes the high-dividend end of the S&P 500. Different flavor of the same food group.
Running since 2015, now a multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the more actively traded names in its cohort, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
Pays quarterly and has tracked the S&P 500 High Dividend Index closely, which is the whole job for a fund like this.

Worth knowing

FDL At 0.43% it costs more than the cheap index heavyweights in the group (VIG 0.04%, SCHD 0.06%, DGRO 0.08%) and sits a little above the peer median.
Concentrated by design: about 100 names, non-diversified, and the dividend-dollar math tilts toward the mega-caps and sectors writing the biggest checks.yahoo.com contentstack.io
Yield-first, not dividend-growth. The portfolio looks different from growth-screened peers like VIG and DGRO, which start from rising payouts instead of high ones.yahoo.com

SPYD About 80 stocks is a narrow slice. Screening on yield pulls the sector mix away from the broad S&P 500, and the ride can be bumpier than the index it comes from.
A high yield is a ranking, not a promise. The index sorts on payout size, not on how reliably a company has grown or defended that payout.

Full FDL profile⁠

Full SPYD profile⁠

FDL vs SPYD Holdings

How FDL and SPYD differ

Overlap by weight

43.0%

Shared holdings make up 79.0% of FDL and 63.5% of SPYD.

Level by level

Holdings49 in both43.0%
Sector11 Sectors64.4%
Countryby domicile98.7%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in FDL and SPYD, widest gap first
Sector	More in FDLMore in SPYD	FDL	SPYD
Real Estate	SPYD +24.4 points	0.0%	24.4%
Consumer Staples	FDL +10.4 points	24.4%	14.0%
Health Care	FDL +7.9 points	12.3%	4.4%
Materials	SPYD +7.1 points	0.4%	7.5%
Energy	FDL +6.7 points	12.5%	5.8%
Communication	FDL +5.7 points	10.8%	5.1%
Utilities	FDL +3.8 points	14.7%	10.9%
Industrials	SPYD +1.8 points	3.4%	5.2%
Consumer Discretionary	SPYD +1.5 points	3.9%	5.4%
Technology	FDL +1.1 points	5.1%	4.0%
Financials	SPYD +0.8 points	12.5%	13.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FDL and SPYD, widest gap first
Country	More in FDLMore in SPYD	FDL	SPYD
United States	FDL +1.3 points	98.7%	97.4%
Ireland	SPYD +0.6 points	0.6%	1.2%
United Kingdom	SPYD +0.6 points	0.8%	1.4%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FDL51.2%
SPYD16.2%

Securities held

FDL100
SPYD79

Asset class

FDL: Equity
SPYD: Equity

Holdings

Only in FDL51
In both49
Only in SPYD30

Only in FDL

51 securities, 20.6% of FDL by weight

Philip Morris International Inc.6.51%
The Southern Company2.32%
Mondelez International, Inc.1.68%
Consolidated Edison, Inc.0.89%
WEC Energy Group, Inc.0.84%
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated0.84%
DTE Energy Company0.59%
Tyson Foods, Inc. (Class A)0.39%
Genuine Parts Company0.32%
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.0.31%
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.0.29%
Essential Utilities, Inc.0.26%
OneMain Holdings, Inc.0.26%
Columbia Banking System, Inc.0.25%
OGE Energy Corp.0.23%
Eastman Chemical Company0.21%
UGI Corporation0.20%
Conagra Brands, Inc.0.19%
Chord Energy Corporation0.19%
The Campbell's Company0.18%
Brown-Forman Corporation0.17%
Lincoln National Corporation0.17%
Antero Midstream Corp.0.17%
Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.0.17%
Old Republic International Corporation0.16%
Black Hills Corporation0.15%
Albertsons Companies, Inc. (Class A)0.15%
Portland General Electric Company0.14%
Murphy Oil Corporation0.14%
H&R Block, Inc.0.14%
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.0.13%
United Bankshares, Inc.0.13%
Spire Inc.0.12%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc.0.12%
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.0.12%
Sonoco Products Company0.12%
Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation0.12%
Bank OZK0.12%
First American Financial Corporation0.12%
NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc.0.11%
New Jersey Resources Corporation0.11%
Lazard, Inc. (Class A)0.10%
Moelis & Company (Class A)0.10%
ONE Gas, Inc.0.10%
Travel + Leisure Co.0.10%
ADT Inc.0.10%
Associated Banc-Corp0.09%
Penske Automotive Group, Inc.0.06%
Reynolds Consumer Products Inc.0.03%
Brown-Forman Corporation (Class A)0.03%

Only in SPYD

30 securities, 36.2% of SPYD by weight

Hasbro Inc1.73%
Crown Castle Inc1.48%
Eog Resources Inc1.45%
American Tower Corp1.44%
Dow Inc1.38%
Host Hotels & Resorts Inc1.35%
Lyondellbasell Indu Class A1.35%
Extra Space Storage Inc1.33%
Kenvue Inc1.32%
Public Storage1.31%
Simon Property Group Inc1.23%
Honeywell International Inc1.23%
International Paper Co1.21%
Bxp Inc1.20%
Kimco Realty Corp1.20%
Vici Properties Inc1.19%
Regency Centers Corp1.17%
At+t Inc1.17%
Essex Property Trust Inc1.16%
Vivmark Residential1.16%
Invitation Homes Inc1.16%
Mid America Apartment Comm1.16%
Camden Property Trust1.16%
Udr Inc1.15%
Federal Realty Invs Trust1.14%
Realty Income Corp1.12%
Ford Motor Co1.10%
Healthpeak Properties Inc1.09%
Alexandria Real Estate Equit1.05%
S+P500 Emini Fut DEC26<0.01%

Weight gaps

All 49 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FDL and SPYD, widest gap first
Holding	More in FDLMore in SPYD	FDL	SPYD
Chevron CorporationCVX	FDL +7.81 points	9.35%	1.54%
Verizon Communications Inc.VZ	FDL +5.26 points	6.53%	1.27%
Pfizer Inc.PFE	FDL +5.00 points	6.55%	1.55%
PepsiCo, Inc.PEP	FDL +3.75 points	5.02%	1.27%
Altria Group, Inc.MO	FDL +3.62 points	4.99%	1.37%
United Parcel Service, Inc. (Class B)UPS	FDL +2.04 points	3.23%	1.19%
Bristol-Myers Squibb CompanyBMY	FDL +1.70 points	3.00%	1.30%
Comcast Corporation (Class A)CMCSA	FDL +1.33 points	2.55%	1.22%
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.SWK	SPYD +1.16 points	0.33%	1.49%
Accenture plcACN	FDL +1.16 points	3.43%	2.27%
Franklin Templeton, Inc.BEN	SPYD +1.08 points	0.21%	1.29%
The J.M. Smucker CompanySJM	SPYD +1.08 points	0.30%	1.38%
HP Inc.HPQ	SPYD +1.03 points	0.60%	1.63%
Pinnacle West Capital CorporationPNW	SPYD +0.99 points	0.30%	1.29%
Best Buy Co., Inc.BBY	SPYD +0.99 points	0.49%	1.48%
The AES CorporationAES	SPYD +0.99 points	0.30%	1.29%
Duke Energy CorporationDUK	FDL +0.96 points	2.23%	1.27%
The Mosaic CompanyMOS	SPYD +0.91 points	0.12%	1.03%
McCormick & Company, IncorporatedMKC	SPYD +0.88 points	0.28%	1.16%
Hormel Foods CorporationHRL	SPYD +0.85 points	0.21%	1.06%
Evergy, Inc.EVRG	SPYD +0.85 points	0.42%	1.27%
The Clorox CompanyCLX	SPYD +0.84 points	0.35%	1.19%
Medtronic PlcMDT	FDL +0.83 points	2.36%	1.53%
Blackstone Inc.BX	FDL +0.83 points	2.09%	1.26%
Omnicom Group Inc.OMC	SPYD +0.77 points	0.54%	1.31%
KeyCorpKEY	SPYD +0.75 points	0.45%	1.20%
Ares Management Corporation (Class A)ARES	SPYD +0.73 points	0.64%	1.37%
Regions Financial CorporationRF	SPYD +0.69 points	0.51%	1.20%
U.S. BancorpUSB	FDL +0.68 points	1.89%	1.21%
Smurfit Westrock PlcSW	SPYD +0.68 points	0.55%	1.23%
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.FIS	SPYD +0.66 points	0.52%	1.18%
Amcor plcAMCR	SPYD +0.62 points	0.78%	1.40%
FirstEnergy Corp.FE	SPYD +0.59 points	0.63%	1.22%
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.TROW	SPYD +0.53 points	0.65%	1.18%
Eversource EnergyES	SPYD +0.46 points	0.71%	1.17%
General Mills, Inc.GIS	SPYD +0.44 points	0.72%	1.16%
Huntington Bancshares IncorporatedHBAN	SPYD +0.42 points	0.70%	1.12%
Paychex, Inc.PAYX	SPYD +0.40 points	0.87%	1.27%
ONEOK, Inc.OKE	FDL +0.36 points	1.70%	1.34%
The Kraft Heinz CompanyKHC	SPYD +0.33 points	0.85%	1.18%
Truist Financial CorporationTFC	FDL +0.26 points	1.49%	1.23%
Dominion Energy, Inc.D	FDL +0.23 points	1.41%	1.18%
Kinder Morgan, Inc.KMI	FDL +0.22 points	1.57%	1.35%
Kimberly-Clark CorporationKMB	SPYD +0.21 points	1.09%	1.30%
Target CorporationTGT	SPYD +0.19 points	1.23%	1.42%
Exelon CorporationEXC	SPYD +0.14 points	1.13%	1.27%
Prudential Financial, Inc.PRU	SPYD +0.12 points	1.15%	1.27%
Edison InternationalEIX	SPYD +0.11 points	0.84%	0.95%
NIKE, Inc. (Class B)NKE	FDL +0.04 points	1.21%	1.17%

All 100 FDL holdings⁠All 78 SPYD holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FDL vs SPYD Cost

Overpaying FDL vs SPYD

$7,182

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FDL 0.43%
$8,662
SPYD 0.07%
$1,480

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FDL 0.43%
SPYD 0.07%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FDL	SPYD	Overpaying
10	$776	$128	$648
20	$2,994	$503	$2,491
30	$8,662	$1,480	$7,182

Expense ratio

0.43%FDL
0.07%SPYD, cheaper

SPYD0.07%FDL0.43%

0.04%0.70%

Middle half of US Dividend Index funds
Median 0.35%

SPYD 6th cheapest of 52 funds

FDL 38th cheapest of 52 funds

FDL vs SPYD Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): FDL 3.60%; SPYD 4.20%, better
Payout (12M): FDL $1.94; SPYD $2.06
Last payment: FDL $0.51; SPYD $0.52
Ex-dividend: FDL Sep 24, 2026; SPYD Sep 21, 2026
Paid on: FDL Sep 30, 2026; SPYD Sep 23, 2026
Frequency: FDL Quarterly; SPYD Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FDLQuarterly · 41 paymentsAll FDL payments⁠

SPYDQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll SPYD payments⁠

FDL vs SPYD Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

FDL
SPYD

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FDL 13.9%, betterSPYD 14.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FDL 1.31, betterSPYD 0.96
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FDL −16.4%, betterSPYD −22.2%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FDL 0.39SPYD 0.64; Market = 1

FDL and SPYD in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
For a rising dividend, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF ranks first
Updated Nov 2, 2026SPYD
Best ETFs
Schwab's dividend ETF returned 22.8% in a year. Its income rate still trails a one-month bill.
Updated Oct 2, 2026SPYD

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FDL vs SPYD

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FDL and SPYD differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FDL

Only in SPYD

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

For a rising dividend, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF ranks first

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

How FDL and SPYD differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FDL

Only in SPYD

Weight gaps