Compare/Updated Oct 26, 2026, refreshed every trading day
SCHD vs SPY
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF against State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF: 4 years of returns, risk and today’s technical read, from Kavout’s own data.
SPY did better over the 1,000 trading days from October 28, 2022, to October 23, 2026. A $1,000 investment grew to $2,052 in SPY, versus $1,649 in SCHD, producing returns of 105.2% and 64.9%, respectively. SPY also led over three years, up 82.7% versus SCHD’s 67.2%, although SCHD performed better recently, gaining 31.8% year to date and 35.2% over one year versus SPY’s 12.0% and 14.7%. The stronger SPY result reflects broader S&P 500 exposure and greater participation in the period’s market gains. SCHD offered somewhat lower risk: 11.3% volatility versus SPY’s 12.7%, and a worst drawdown of 16.1% versus 18.8%. SCHD also has the lower expense ratio, 0.06% versus 0.09%. Their daily-move correlation was 0.673, but SCHD moved only 0.59% per 1% move in SPY.
- Price is above its 200-day average ($32); 50-day at $34.
- RSI 73, overbought. Supertrend says buy. ADX 33, so the trend is strong.
- Price is above its 200-day average ($725); 50-day at $767.
- RSI 42, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 14, so the trend is weak.
Head to head
Which has returned more, SCHD or SPY?
SCHD beat SPY in 21 of the last 48 months; SPY won the other 27. The typical monthly gap was 2.86 points.
Total return by period
Which is riskier?
SCHD: Nov 29, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025; SPY: Feb 19, 2025 to Apr 8, 2025
- 0.673
- correlation of daily moves, 4 years
- 0.59
- SCHD move per 1% in SPY
- 0.218
- correlation, last 12 months
Month by month
Of the last 48 months. The typical gap was 2.86 points.
When did they diverge?
| Month | SCHD | SPY | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | +8.4% | -0.3% | +8.75 pts |
| February 2026 | +6.5% | -0.9% | +7.39 pts |
| January 2026 | +8.7% | +1.5% | +7.23 pts |
| April 2025 | -7.7% | -0.9% | -6.79 pts |
Where the numbers come from. 1000 daily adjusted closes per fund from the Kavout market-data API, dividends included. Signals and indicators are Kavout’s own, refreshed nightly. Every figure is calculated from those adjusted closes.
Holdings and fees
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