QDIV vs SCHD

QDIVBGlobal X S&P 500 Quality Dividend ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

QDIV Most dividend funds chase yield and hope quality follows. QDIV demands both: a stock must rank in the S&P 500's top 200 on dividend yield and top 200 on quality to get in. Roughly 50 names, equal weighted, paid monthly.

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

QDIV The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Quality High Dividend Index.

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

• QDIV The double screen is the whole point: only S&P 500 names in the top 200 by dividend yield AND the top 200 by quality score (return on equity, accruals, leverage) make the cut.globalxetfs.comspglobal.com
• 0.20% a year, roughly half the typical fee among dividend-screen ETFs.
• Equal weighting plus a 25% cap on any one sector at each semiannual rebalance stops a single megacap or a single corner of the market from running the show.spglobal.com
• Pays monthly, and the portfolio has tracked its index closely.

• 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

• QDIV Cheap next to the average dividend screener, less so next to the giants: VIG (0.04%), SCHD (0.06%) and DGRO (0.08%) all charge less.
• It trades thinly, so spreads can be wider than the household names. Limit orders earn their keep here.
• About 50 equal-weighted stocks means each name carries real weight, and the twin screens can leave the fund leaning on whichever sectors pass both tests.spglobal.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 QDIV profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠