OUSA vs SCHD

OUSACALPS Funds O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

OUSA Three filters, one dividend fund: quality, low volatility and dividend growth, stacked on US large- and mid-caps, then paid out monthly. The boutique, premium-priced take in an aisle stocked with cheap giants.

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

OUSA OUSA seeks, before fees and expenses, to track the O'Shares U.S. Quality Dividend Index. It is designed to provide access to U.S. large- and mid-cap dividend-paying companies selected using quality, low-volatility and dividend-growth measures.

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

• OUSA No yield chase. The index screens US large- and mid-caps on quality, low volatility and dividend growth, so the filters come before the payout.alpsfunds.com
• Distributions land monthly, and the portfolio stays tight at roughly 100 names rather than sprawling across the whole dividend market.
• Live since 2015, with real trading history through rate swings and drawdowns instead of a backtest. The holdings line up with the index it advertises.

• 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

• OUSA At 0.48% a year it costs more than the typical dividend screener, and index heavyweights like SCHD, VIG and DGRO charge a fraction of that.
• Trading is thin next to the category's giants, which can mean wider spreads on the way in and on the way out.
• In a crowded field of dividend screeners it sits in the lower stretch overall, with cost the main drag on an otherwise on-mandate portfolio.

• 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 OUSA profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠