RDVY vs SCHD

RDVYCFirst Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF

SCHDASchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF

In short

RDVY A dividend fund built around raises, not yield: roughly 50 equal-weighted US names, a quarter of the roster refreshed each quarter, and an index rule that ejects companies which slash or suspend the payout.

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

RDVY The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Nasdaq US Rising Dividend AchieversTM Index before fees and expenses.

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

• RDVY The index doesn't wait for the annual reshuffle. Under Nasdaq's rules, a holding that suspends its dividend or cuts it by 50% or more is removed the following month.nasdaqomx.com
• Four sub-portfolios, each reconstituted in its own quarter and reset to 25% of the index every March. Turnover happens in rolling slices instead of one annual lump.nasdaqomx.com
• Equal weighting across about 50 stocks. No single mega-cap steers the portfolio the way it can in cap-weighted dividend index funds.nasdaqomx.com
• Live since 2014 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.

• 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

• RDVY 0.47% a year sits above the median US dividend-screen fund and runs many multiples of the category's index staples: SCHD at 0.06%, VIG at 0.04%, DGRO at 0.08%.
• About 50 equal-weighted names is a concentrated way to own dividend growth. Each position carries real weight, and sector tilts can run hotter than a broad-market fund's.nasdaqomx.com
• The mandate tracks an index of rising dividend payers, not the highest yields on offer. Different job than a high-yield fund. Distributions come quarterly.

• 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 RDVY profile⁠

Full SCHD profile⁠