QDF vs SCHD

QDFCNorthern Trust Quality Dividend ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

QDF A dividend screen that doesn't want to be a bond proxy: QDF ranks large and mid-cap US payers on dividend quality, then targets beta similar to its parent index. 0.39% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

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

QDF The fund seeks to track the Northern Trust Quality Dividend Index before fees and expenses. Its strategy uses a quality-focused dividend approach intended to pursue income and total return through U.S. equity securities.

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

• QDF The index starts with 1,250 large and mid-cap US companies, cuts non-payers, then drops the lowest-scoring quintile on a Dividend Quality Score built from financial health measures.flexshares.com
• Quality is ranked sector by sector, an apples-to-apples comparison that surfaces payers across the market instead of crowding into the usual high-yield corners.flexshares.com
• The index targets overall beta similar to the Northern Trust 1250 parent, so the yield tilt is not built around a defensive, low-beta portfolio.flexshares.com
• Live since December 2012, a multi-billion-dollar fund holding roughly 140 stocks and paying quarterly.

• 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

• QDF At 0.39% (net of a waiver through March 1, 2027) the fee lands near the category median, but well above index rivals like SCHD at 0.06% and VIG at 0.04%.
• Trades less actively than the category's largest funds, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.
• FlexShares flags that the fund can sit more than 25% in one industry and uses representative sampling, which can widen the gap between fund and index returns.flexshares.com

• 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 QDF profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠