Schwab dividend ETF SCHD hits 52-week high, up 37.1% from its low
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The gist
Schwab's dividend ETF SCHD hit a 52-week high, up 37.1% from its low.
Its payout growth has slowed to about 2%, a shift income investors are watching.
Background
SCHD, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, is a dividend-focused fund tracking the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which screens for companies with long dividend records and ranks them on financial strength, yield and dividend growth; it charges a 0.06% expense ratio and is described as one of the most widely held income funds. It launched in October 2011 and has since delivered a total return of 562%, holding $112.3 billion in net assets as of Aug 31, 2026. It is drawing attention now because it has outperformed the S&P 500 this year and sits near a 52-week high, while its dividend growth has decelerated.
How it unfolded
- Oct 20, 2011SCHD launches; since launch it has delivered a total return of 562%.
- 2020SCHD pays roughly $0.68 per share, a 17.6% increase in the year of the COVID crash; its worst three-month return was -21.6% in early 2020.
- 2022SCHD pays roughly $0.85 per share, up 13.9% in the year of the bear market; annual dividends per share rose about 49% from 2019 to 2022.
- Jul 21, 2026SCHD has delivered a 21.62% year-to-date total return, versus 10.36% for Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO).
- Aug 31, 2026SCHD holds $112.3 billion in net assets.
- Nov 3, 2026SCHD trades at $35.55, down 0.97%; AUM $121.09B, dividend yield 2.97%, expense ratio 0.06%.
- Nov 5, 2026SCHD hits a 52-week high and has jumped 37.1% from its low.
Key terms
- ETF
- An investment fund that is bought and sold on stock exchanges and holds assets such as stocks, bonds or commodities.
- expense ratio
- The annual cost of owning an investment fund, expressed as a percentage of assets.
- total return
- The overall gain from an investment, including both price appreciation and income such as dividends and interest.
Source: Wikipedia
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Motley Fool author Matt DiLallo calls SCHD one of the highest-quality dividend-focused ETFs around.
- Caution
- DiLallo also warns investors can err by failing to understand how the fund changes the risk profile of their existing investments.
- Analysts
- 247/7 Wall St. author Jake FitzGerald says SCHD draws billions in retiree money by promising steady dividends, but SYLD measures shareholder returns in a way dividends alone cannot capture.
- Caution
- A Motley Fool author who holds SCHD and added to his position last week says he does not know whether the ~2% payout growth is a blip or a trend.
Still unverified
Whether the slowdown to about 2% payout growth is a blip or a trend is unknown to the Motley Fool author who holds the fund.