How Schwab’s Dividend and Growth ETFs Compare

SCHD and SCHG are Charles Schwab’s two most popular stock ETFs, and they are built to do opposite jobs. SCHD, the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, owns about 100 high-yielding, financially strong companies. SCHG, the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF, owns about 190 fast-growing companies led by Apple, NVIDIA and Microsoft.

Over the long run, SCHG has been far ahead. From the start of 2012 to early November 2026, $10,000 grew to about $103,900 in SCHG, against about $65,800 in SCHD, including reinvested dividends.

But 2026 has turned the story around. To November 2, SCHD was up about 34.1% for the year and SCHG only about 4.5%, the widest lead SCHD has ever had over SCHG in a calendar year. This guide explains how each fund works, what each owns, how they have performed year by year and in every kind of market, how much income each actually paid, and what happened to investors who held both.

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FRC’s ETF Investing for Beginners course explains how index ETFs like SCHD and SCHG work. ETF Investing Strategies covers growth, income and blended approaches, and Advanced ETF Investing goes further into portfolio construction.

FRC’s programs and memberships are open to everyone. If ETFs are new to you, FRC’s guide to everything you need to know about ETFs covers how they work and where they came from.

SCHD vs SCHG at a Glance

Both funds are run by Schwab Asset Management, both pay dividends quarterly, and both are among the cheapest funds of their kind. All return figures in this guide are total returns, with dividends reinvested, unless stated otherwise.

How SCHD Picks Its Stocks

SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, which starts with US companies that have paid dividends for at least 10 years in a row. Eligible companies are scored on four measures: cash flow to total debt, return on equity, dividend yield and five-year dividend growth.

The 100 companies with the strongest combined scores make it into the index. Holdings are weighted by company size, but capped at 4% each and 25% per sector when the index is rebuilt each March.

The result is a fund of mature, profitable, high-paying companies. Because dividend yield is one of the four scores, the largest technology companies, whose yields are tiny, rarely qualify.

How SCHG Picks Its Stocks

SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index. It takes the largest US companies and selects those with the strongest growth characteristics, such as fast earnings growth and high valuations relative to earnings and assets.

Holdings are weighted by company size, with no cap on any single stock. As the largest technology companies have grown, they have come to dominate the fund.

Dividends play no part in SCHG’s selection. Its small yield is simply what its growth companies happen to pay.

What Each Fund Owns

At the end of September 2026, SCHD’s top 10 holdings made up about 42% of the fund, each close to 4%. They were Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Merck, Chevron, Verizon, ConocoPhillips, UnitedHealth Group and Home Depot, and its largest areas were consumer staples, healthcare and energy.

At the start of November 2026, SCHG’s top 10 holdings made up about 60% of the fund. Apple alone was about 12%, NVIDIA about 11.9% and Microsoft about 9.1%, followed by Amazon, Broadcom, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla and Eli Lilly, and technology made up about 54% of the fund.

The two portfolios have very little in common. None of SCHG’s three largest holdings is in SCHD, and SCHD’s energy, consumer staples and telecom companies barely feature in SCHG, which is why the two funds so often move in different directions.

SCHD vs SCHG Year by Year

Over the 14 full calendar years when both funds were running, SCHG led in 11 and SCHD in three: 2016, 2021 and 2022. On average, the two funds’ results differed by about 13 percentage points a year, a sign of how differently they are built.

SCHG’s biggest lead came in 2023, when it beat SCHD by almost 46 points. SCHD’s biggest leads came in 2022, by 28.5 points, and in 2026 so far, by almost 30 points.

The Scorecard: 2012 to 2025

These figures cover the 14 full calendar years when both funds existed, so the comparison is like for like. SCHG roughly doubled SCHD’s result, but its worst year was almost six times as bad.

The “typical swing” is the standard deviation of each fund’s yearly returns, a common measure of volatility. SCHD was the steadiest of the three, steadier even than the S&P 500, while SCHG was the most volatile.

Returns Over 3, 5, 10 and 14 Years

Over every long period, SCHG finished well ahead of SCHD and the S&P 500. SCHD’s 2026 surge has narrowed the gap, lifting its return since 2012 from about 12.0% a year to 13.5%.

Including 2026 changes the 10-year picture too. From the start of 2017 to November 2, 2026, almost 10 years, $10,000 grew to about $51,960 in SCHG, about $39,190 in the S&P 500 and about $34,260 in SCHD.

Rolling Five-Year Returns

SCHG led in nine of the 10 rolling five-year periods. The only exception was 2018 to 2022, a window that ended with SCHG’s worst year and included SCHD’s resilience through the 2022 bear market.

Over rolling 10-year periods, the result was similar. SCHG led in four of the five 10-year windows from 2012 to 2025, and the one SCHD won, 2013 to 2022, it won by less than a tenth of a percentage point a year.

Which Fund Led in Which Kind of Market

The pattern is clear. When the largest technology companies lead, SCHG wins by a wide margin, and when the market rotates towards value, energy and defensive companies, or interest rates rise sharply, SCHD comes out ahead.

How Each Fund Behaved in Up and Down Markets

This table shows the two funds’ personalities in numbers. In the market’s down years, SCHD lost about a third as much as the S&P 500, while SCHG lost more. In the strong years, SCHG gained about 14 points a year more than SCHD.

Because rising years have been far more common than falling ones since 2012, SCHG’s approach has paid off over the long run. But anyone holding SCHG alone had to accept much larger losses along the way.

Every Major Fall, Side by Side

SCHD’s falls are measured including dividends, except in 2025, while SCHG’s are measured on price alone. Because SCHG’s dividend is so small, that makes little difference to its figures.

In 2022, SCHG regained its peak sooner after the low, but only after falling twice as far. An investor in SCHD saw a much shallower loss, even though its recovery took longer.

The comparison holds a surprise. In the 2020 crash, SCHD fell slightly more than SCHG, and SCHG recovered more than twice as fast, because technology companies thrived during lockdowns.

2022 is the year that defines SCHD’s appeal. SCHG lost about a third of its value as interest rates rose, while SCHD’s fall was about half as deep and its calendar-year loss only 3.3%.

What Happened in 2026

2026 has been SCHD’s best year relative to SCHG. At the start of March, war between the United States and Iran sent oil prices above $100 a barrel, and investors moved towards energy, healthcare and defensive companies, exactly the areas SCHD holds.

SCHD’s energy holdings, such as Chevron and ConocoPhillips, and its healthcare holdings, such as Merck, helped lift it to an all-time high. Over the 12 months to early November, it returned close to 39%.

SCHG went the other way. From its October 2025 peak to the end of March 2026, its price fell about 16.6%, and although it reached a new high in early October, it was up only about 4.5% for the year by November 2, about 8% below that peak.

Income: What $10,000 Actually Paid

Many investors spend their dividends rather than reinvest them. The table below shows the cash each fund paid on $10,000 invested at the start of 2012, with nothing reinvested.

By 2025, the SCHD investor was collecting about 12.0% a year on their original $10,000, a figure known as yield on cost, against about 3.2% for the SCHG investor. Over the 14 years, SCHD paid about $9,660 in total cash, against about $3,270 from SCHG.

The share prices tell the other half of the story. By the end of 2025, the SCHD shares were worth about $31,420 and the SCHG shares about $88,160, so the SCHG investor finished with about $91,430 in shares and cash, against about $41,080 for SCHD.

That is the whole trade-off in one picture. SCHD paid almost three times as much cash and raised it every year, while SCHG built far more wealth in the value of the shares themselves.

Dividend Growth

SCHD’s dividend has risen every year since its first full year. On a split-adjusted basis, it paid about $0.27 per share in 2012 and about $1.05 in 2025, growth of about 11.0% a year.

SCHG’s dividend has been much less dependable. It paid about $0.06 per share in 2012 and about $0.12 in 2025, growth of about 5.5% a year, and it fell in four of those years: 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022.

That difference follows from how each fund is built. SCHD rewards dividend growth directly in its scoring, while SCHG takes no account of dividends at all.

Costs and Taxes

SCHG charges an expense ratio of 0.04% and SCHD 0.06%, or $40 and $60 a year on $100,000. Over 30 years at 8% a year, $100,000 would grow to about $995,100 after SCHG’s fee and about $989,600 after SCHD’s, a difference too small to decide between them.

Tax is a bigger difference. SCHD’s yield of about 2.9% produces taxable income every year in a regular brokerage account, while SCHG’s yield of about 0.4% leaves almost all of its return as unrealized growth, which is not taxed until shares are sold.

Most of both funds’ dividends have been qualified, taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rates. FRC’s guides to qualified vs non-qualified dividends and how to choose tax-efficient ETFs explain the details.

Holding Both: How Different Mixes Performed

Because SCHD and SCHG own such different companies, many investors hold both. The table shows how different mixes, rebalanced once a year, performed from 2012 to 2025.

Every step towards SCHD gave up some growth but cut the worst year sharply. The 50/50 mix finished ahead of the S&P 500’s $69,570 over 2012 to 2025, with a worst year of about −17.6%, almost exactly the S&P 500’s 2022 loss.

The 50/50 mix also beat the S&P 500 while taking less risk in its worst year, which is why the pairing is so popular.

How Closely SCHD and SCHG Move Together

Across their yearly results from 2012 to 2025, SCHD and SCHG had a correlation of about 0.6, on a scale where 1 means they move in lockstep and 0 means no link at all. Figures quoted elsewhere vary widely, because correlation depends heavily on the period measured.

The link has weakened sharply. From 2012 to 2018, the two funds’ yearly returns had a correlation of about 0.9, moving almost together, but from 2019 to 2025 it fell to about 0.5, as technology giants came to dominate SCHG and SCHD moved further into energy, healthcare and consumer staples.

Their sensitivity to the market differs just as much. On yearly figures from 2012 to 2025, SCHD moved about 0.7 points for every 1 point the S&P 500 moved, while SCHG moved about 1.3 points, a measure known as beta.

Common Questions About SCHD and SCHG

Which has performed better, SCHD or SCHG? Over almost every long period, SCHG. From 2012 to 2025, it returned about 17.8% a year against SCHD’s 12.0%, but SCHD led in 2016, 2021, 2022 and 2026.

Why is SCHD beating SCHG in 2026? Because the market has rotated away from the largest technology companies and towards energy, healthcare and defensive stocks, helped by higher oil prices after the US–Iran war began in March. Those are the areas SCHD holds and SCHG largely does not.

Does SCHG pay dividends? Yes, quarterly, but its yield is only about 0.4%, so $10,000 pays roughly $40 a year at today’s prices. SCHD’s yield of about 2.9% pays roughly $290.

Is SCHD safer than SCHG? It has been less volatile, with smaller falls in 2018, 2022 and 2025. But it is still a stock fund, and in the 2020 crash it fell about a third, slightly more than SCHG.

Should I hold SCHD and SCHG together? FRC does not give personal advice, but the history shows what a combination did. A 50/50 split returned about 15.3% a year from 2012 to 2025, between the two funds, with a worst year about half as bad as SCHG’s.

How will SCHD do in a recession? SCHD has been through one recession, in 2020. It fell about 33% from its January peak to the March low, about as much as the broad market, but recovered within about six months and raised its dividend by about 17.7% that year.

How many shares of SCHD do you need to make $100,000 a year? Based on SCHD’s 2025 dividends of about $1.05 per share, about 95,500 shares, worth roughly $3.4 million at early November 2026 prices. Earning $1,000 a month would take about 11,500 shares, worth roughly $411,000, while earning $100,000 a year from SCHG would take about 855,000 shares, worth roughly $29 million.

Why is SCHD losing value? In early November 2026, it was not: SCHD was trading at an all-time high. Many investors remember its weak run from 2023 to 2025, or its share price dropping by two-thirds in October 2024, which was a 3-for-1 share split, not a loss.

Do SCHD and SCHG share any holdings? Very few, and none of their top 10 holdings is the same. That limited overlap is the main reason their returns so often diverge.

Which suits a Roth IRA? Both can be held in one. Because growth inside a Roth IRA is not taxed, some investors place a high-growth fund like SCHG there, while others use an IRA to shelter SCHD’s larger yearly dividends. FRC’s guide to the Roth IRA rules explains how these accounts work.

Which Investors Each Fund Tends to Suit

SCHD tends to appeal to investors who want income today, such as retirees living on their dividends, and to those who want a steadier ride. Its rising dividend and smaller losses in bear markets are its main attractions.

SCHG tends to appeal to investors still building wealth, with long time horizons and the stomach for large falls. Its history has rewarded patience, but it depends heavily on a handful of giant technology companies.

Neither fund is right for everyone. The choice usually comes down to whether an investor needs income now, how much of a fall they can sit through, and how much they want to depend on the largest technology companies.

SCHD and SCHG vs SCHX and SCHB

Schwab also offers two broad market funds that many investors compare with SCHD and SCHG. SCHX, the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF, holds about 690 of the largest US companies, and SCHB, the Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF, holds about 1,580 large, mid-size and small companies, both for 0.03% a year.

SCHX’s results have been almost identical to the S&P 500’s, sitting between SCHG and SCHD in every long period. SCHB has tracked SCHX closely: in the five years to October 30, 2026, SCHB returned about 68% in total against about 71% for SCHX.

SCHG and SCHD are effectively the growth and value-and-income halves of the market, while SCHX and SCHB hold the whole thing. An investor holding SCHB already owns most of SCHG’s and SCHD’s companies, in market weights.

How They Compare With Other Popular ETFs

SCHD sits among the four most popular US dividend ETFs, alongside VYM, VIG and DGRO. FRC’s comparisons of SCHD vs VYM, SCHD vs VIG and SCHD vs VOO cover those pairings.

SCHG’s closest rival is QQQ, which has edged ahead of it over most long periods. FRC’s SCHG performance history and SCHD performance history tell each fund’s story year by year.

Is Your Money Safe in SCHD and SCHG?

Both funds are regulated investment companies overseen by the SEC, with their holdings kept by an independent custodian and separate from Schwab’s own assets. FRC’s guide to Is Charles Schwab Safe? explains how Schwab is structured and regulated.

When you hold either fund at a SIPC member brokerage, your account is protected up to $500,000, including $250,000 in cash, if the brokerage fails and assets are missing. This protection does not cover market losses, such as SCHG’s fall of about 35% from 2021 to 2023.

Keep Learning

The FRC dictionary is more than a dictionary. It is a library of explainer videos, written explanations and on-page quizzes, so you can open any term, such as diversification or compound interest, and go deeper whenever something is unclear.

FRC’s programs and memberships are open to everyone. FRC’s Investing for Beginners guide and its guide to dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum are natural next steps for anyone building a portfolio.

The Bottom Line

SCHD and SCHG are opposites. SCHD offers a higher, steadily rising income and smaller losses in rate-driven bear markets, while SCHG has delivered far more growth, roughly doubling SCHD’s result from 2012 to 2025, at the cost of much bigger falls.

2026 is a reminder that neither fund leads forever. SCHD is up about 34% and SCHG about 4.5%, after years in which SCHG left SCHD far behind, and investors who held both have had a smoother ride than those who held either alone.