SCHD vs SCHG: Dividend Income or Large-Cap Growth?
Schwab's dividend ETF against Schwab's large-cap growth ETF — a near-perfect split of the US market into the two factors most investors actually care about.
SCHG has dramatically outperformed SCHD since 2020 because of the mega-cap tech bull run. SCHG yields next to nothing (<0.5%); SCHD yields 3.5%+. A classic income-vs-growth tradeoff. Many investors hold both as a barbell.
Quick stats
| Metric | SCHD | SCHG |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $31.05 | $32.62 |
| TTM yield | 3.40% | 0.39% |
| Real yield (NAV-adj.) | 4.22% | 0.55% |
| NAV change (period) | 24.1% | 41.7% |
| Annualized volatility | 1181.1% | 1712.3% |
| Distribution frequency | quarterly | quarterly |
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.04% |
| Inception | 2011-10-20 | 2009-12-11 |
| AUM | ~$70B | ~$30B |
| 1Y dividend CAGR | -32.1% | 6.2% |
| 3Y dividend CAGR | 7.0% | 15.2% |
| 5Y dividend CAGR | 9.2% | 6.8% |
| 5Y price CAGR | 4.5% | 13.3% |
Strategy & holdings
These are two sides of the Schwab ETF lineup. SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index — quality-screened dividend payers. SCHG tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index — large-cap growth companies selected by earnings growth, sales growth, and price momentum. The two portfolios are almost non-overlapping.
Dividend-focused: 10-year dividend history plus quality screens. Heavy on financials, staples, healthcare. Excludes most mega-cap tech. ~100 holdings.
Large-cap growth: Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Tesla dominate the top weights. ~250 holdings. Essentially a growth-tilted mega-cap fund.
This is one of the cleanest pair comparisons because the overlap is minimal. SCHG holds the companies that drove the 2020s bull market (mega-cap tech) and excludes dividend payers. SCHD holds quality dividend payers and excludes most mega-cap tech. Holding both together gives you broad US equity exposure (comparable to VOO) with an income tilt. Holding either alone gives you a concentrated factor bet — growth or dividend.
Yield & distributions
SCHD yields 3.5-4%. SCHG yields under 0.5%, often closer to 0.3%. This is not a 'yield comparison' — SCHG's dividend is incidental. If you want income, SCHD is the only answer of the two. SCHG's role is pure total return through capital appreciation.
Total return & NAV
SCHG has crushed SCHD on total return over 3Y, 5Y, and 10Y windows. The gap has been substantial — often 7-10 percentage points annualized. This is entirely a function of the mega-cap tech bull market. In a value or dividend-led regime (think 2000-2010), the result would reverse. The honest assessment is that SCHG's outperformance is regime-dependent, but recent regime has strongly favored growth.
Risk & volatility
SCHG is meaningfully more volatile than SCHD. Max drawdowns during corrections have been 25-35% for SCHG vs 15-20% for SCHD. SCHG also has extreme concentration — the top 10 holdings are often 50%+ of the fund. Any prolonged tech correction hits SCHG hard. SCHD's defensive sector mix provides real downside protection that SCHG cannot match.
Tax treatment
Both are tax-efficient but for different reasons. SCHG generates almost no taxable income because it pays minimal dividends — any taxable event is usually a capital gains sale. SCHD generates qualified dividend income but at LTCG rates. SCHG is 'buy-and-hold' tax efficient; SCHD is 'pays as you go' tax efficient.