JHDV vs SPYD

JHDVCJohn Hancock U.S. High Dividend ETF

SPYDAState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

In short

JHDV Active, not indexed: Manulife's systematic team picks roughly 80 U.S. large- and mid-cap dividend payers, for 0.34% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027.

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

JHDV The fund seeks a high level of current income, with long-term capital growth as a secondary objective.

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

• JHDV Not an index fund. The managers build the book themselves and can reach for preferreds, convertibles and REITs that rules-based dividend screens leave out.sec.gov
• At least 80% of assets sit in dividend-paying U.S. large- and mid-caps, with current income first in the mandate and long-term capital growth the stated second priority.sec.gov
• 0.34% net of a waiver through July 31, 2027 lands near the category median, which is rare company for an actively run fund. Income is paid quarterly.
• Subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US), John Hancock's affiliated asset manager, since the fund's 2022 launch.johnhancock.com

• 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

• JHDV That 0.34% is a waived price. The gross fee is 2.07% and the waiver is dated July 31, 2027, so the long-run cost depends on it being extended.
• A small, thinly traded fund, so spreads can run wider than the category heavyweights and large orders move it more.
• Index rivals screen for dividends at a fraction of the cost: SCHD at 0.06%, VIG at 0.04%. The premium here buys manager discretion, not a cheaper wrapper.

• 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 JHDV profile⁠

Full SPYD profile⁠