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SCHD vs. VYM: Two Popular Dividend ETFs, Two Very Different Ways to Pick Stocks

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) both aim at dividend income, but they choose stocks differently, cost slightly different amounts and have paid out and returned different amounts. Here is how they compare, using fund company data as of fall 2026.

November 14, 2026 ยท 7 min read

Two dividend exchange-traded funds sit near the top of many investors' search lists: Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM). Both are low-cost index funds. Both hold large U.S. companies that pay dividends. Yet they are built on different ideas, and those ideas show up in what the funds own, how much income they pay and how they have behaved over different stretches of time.

This article takes each fund on its own, then compares them side by side. It is general education, not a recommendation of either one. Figures come from the fund sponsors and are dated, because trailing numbers can move quickly.

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