The Best High-Yield ETF to Buy for 2026: SCHD or HDV?

2 hours ago 2

Neha Chamaria, The Motley Fool

Wed, December 31, 2025 astatine 7:06 AM CST 6 min read

SCHD is somewhat cheaper to ain and presently offers a higher dividend output than HDV.
HDV, however, has delivered bigger returns and a shallower five-year drawdown.
Both funds person ample vulnerability to energy, user defensive, and healthcare sectors, but their largest positions disagree significantly.
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The iShares Core High Dividend ETF (NYSEMKT:HDV) and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT:SCHD) some people U.S. companies with beardown dividend profiles, but their strategies and results diverge successful cardinal areas. The 2 ETFs disagree astir successful caller returns, dividend yield, and portfolio construction, contempt akin assemblage tilts and debased costs.

We comparison the 2 dividend ETFs based connected cost, yield, performance, risk, and portfolio creation beneath to assistance investors determine which money whitethorn entreaty to them, depending connected their income needs and hazard preferences.

Metric

HDV

SCHD

Issuer	IShares	Schwab
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.06%
1-yr instrumentality (as of Dec. 30, 2025)	9.5%	1.5%
Dividend yield	3.2%	3.8%
Beta	0.48	1
AUM	$12 billion	$72 billion

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year play returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months.

SCHD is marginally much affordable than HDV with a 0.06% disbursal ratio and besides offers a higher dividend payout, with a output of 3.8% compared to HDV’s 3.2%.

Metric

HDV

SCHD

Max drawdown (5 y)	-15.41%	-16.86%
Growth of $1,000 implicit 5 years	$1,400	$1,300

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF holds 103 U.S. stocks with a absorption connected sustainable dividends. Its portfolio premix is heavy weighted towards vigor (19.34%), user antiaircraft (18.5%), healthcare (16.1%), and industrials (12.28%) sectors. The ETF's largest positions arsenic of Dec. 30 are Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Merck (NYSE:MRK), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), nary of which look among HDV’s apical holdings. The money has a 14.2-year way grounds and has grown to implicit $72 cardinal successful assets nether absorption (AUM), making it 1 of the largest U.S. equity income ETFs.

The iShares Core High Dividend ETF, meanwhile, has a somewhat much concentrated portfolio of 74 stocks, with notable assemblage tilts toward user defensive, energy, and healthcare. Its apical positions arsenic of Dec. 30 were Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), and Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV), giving it a heavier vigor and healthcare bias astatine the top. Both funds debar leverage, hedging, oregon ESG overlays, keeping their strategies straightforward and focused connected dividend strength.