FDRR vs SCHD

FDRRBFidelity Dividend ETF for Rising Rates

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

FDRR Most dividend funds ignore interest rates. FDRR is built around them: Fidelity's rate-aware spin on dividend equity, running since 2016 and priced at 0.15% a year, well under the typical dividend-screen fund.

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

FDRR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Fidelity Dividend Index for Rising Rates.

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

• FDRR 0.15% a year against a roughly 0.39% median for dividend-screen ETFs. You get a rules-based twist most index shops don't sell, at a below-median price.
• The mandate is right there in the index name: the Fidelity Dividend Index for Rising Rates. A dividend basket screened with rate moves in mind, not just the fattest yields on the board.
• About 130 stocks, quarterly distributions, and a live track record back to 2016. This is a seasoned product, not a themed launch chasing a headline.
• Lands in the upper half of a crowded dividend-screen field of roughly 50 funds, with high confidence in the underlying data.

• 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

• FDRR Thinly traded next to the category's giants. Spreads deserve a look before you hit the button, especially on larger orders.
• The core dividend heavyweights undercut it on fee: VIG at 0.04%, SCHD at 0.06%, DGRO at 0.08%. The rate screen is what you're paying the difference for.
• A rate-aware screen builds in sector tilts a plain dividend index won't have, so results can drift from the broad dividend crowd in either direction.

• 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 FDRR profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠