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Should Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 10/20/2011.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $63.21 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Value stocks are known for their lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but investors should also note their lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.06%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.17%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector--about 18.10% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Abbvie Inc (ABBV - Free Report) accounts for about 4.87% of total assets, followed by Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) and Amgen Inc (AMGN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 43.22% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHD seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index is designed to measure the performance of high dividend yielding stocks issued by U.S. companies that have a record of consistently paying dividends, selected for fundamental strength relative to their peers, based on financial ratios.

The ETF has lost about -7.80% so far this year and is down about -1.36% in the last one year (as of 04/08/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $24.94 and $29.53.

The ETF has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 14.85% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SCHD is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $55.55 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $120.70 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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