LVHI vs SCHY

LVHIAFranklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF

SCHYASchwab International Dividend Equity ETF

In short

LVHI Most international dividend funds hand you a currency bet you never asked for. LVHI tracks an index that hedges it away, then screens developed-market payers for high dividends, low volatility and real profits.

SCHY Schwab's dividend playbook with a passport: an index of non-US high payers filtered for sustained dividends, financial strength and low volatility, run for 0.08% a year while the typical fund in its group charges 0.50%.

Stated mandate

LVHI The fund tracks the Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Hedged Index, which targets profitable developed-market companies outside the United States with relatively high dividend yields and lower price and earnings volatility.

SCHY The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, an index of high-dividend-yielding stocks issued by companies outside the United States. Its index methodology emphasizes sustained dividend payments, relative financial strength, and lower volatility.

Why people hold it

• LVHI The word 'Hedged' sits right in the benchmark's name: the index neutralizes foreign-currency moves, so what reaches you is the dividend story rather than the FX story.
• Three filters, not one. The index targets profitable non-US developed companies with high yields and lower price and earnings volatility, so yield alone doesn't buy a spot.
• At 0.40% a year it comes in under the 0.50% median for international dividend-screen funds, which is unusual for a strategy carrying a built-in currency hedge.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively and pays quarterly, and it has been running since 2016, so there's a real track record to inspect.

• SCHY Costs 0.08% a year against a 0.50% median for international dividend screens, one of the cheapest ways to rent this strategy.
• The index does more than chase yield: it screens for sustained payers, relative financial strength and lower volatility. Cash goes out quarterly.
• A plain passive tracker of the Dow Jones International Dividend 100 Index that has hugged its benchmark closely, with a multibillion-dollar base and shares that trade actively.
• Stands among the stronger implementations in its international dividend peer group on cost, tracking and tradability.

Worth knowing

• LVHI The hedge works in both directions: it damps the hit when the dollar rises and equally gives up the tailwind when the dollar falls.
• You pay for the machinery. Plain unhedged index peers such as VYMI (0.07%) and SCHY (0.08%) charge a fraction of LVHI's 0.40%.
• Developed markets outside the US only, roughly 190 stocks. No emerging-market dividend payers, and no US names to lean on.

• SCHY Roughly 130 stocks, a narrower net than a broad international fund. Dividend screens naturally bunch up in a handful of sectors and countries.
• Launched in 2021, so it carries a shorter live record than the veterans of international dividend investing.
• Two neighbors shave the fee a touch further: VYMI and VIGI charge 0.07%, though each screens for different things.

Full LVHI profile⁠

Full SCHY profile⁠