Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs SCHD: how they differ
QUAL and SCHD hold 11% of their weight in the same names, and SCHD returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and SCHD hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | SCHD |
|---|---|---|
| SLB N.V. | 1.56% | 2.06% |
| QUALCOMM INCORPORATED | 1.42% | 6.75% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. | 1.08% | 3.87% |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED | 1.03% | 5.10% |
| THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY | 0.93% | 3.55% |
| AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING, INC. | 0.88% | 2.25% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 0.88% | 2.71% |
| THE COCA-COLA COMPANY | 0.75% | 3.96% |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 0.55% | 2.97% |
| DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION | 0.51% | 1.29% |
| Pepsico, Inc. | 0.46% | 3.45% |
| FASTENAL COMPANY | 0.44% | 1.28% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in SCHD |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Texas Instruments Inc 5.92% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Chevron Corp 3.84% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | Verizon Communications Inc 3.66% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | ConocoPhillips 3.52% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Amgen Inc 3.48% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Home Depot Inc/The 3.37% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Altria Group Inc 2.94% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Bristol-Myers Squibb Co 2.94% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | SCHD Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Schwab |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | US dividend |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +27.6% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | +10.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.06% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 95.1% |
| Holdings | 121 | 99 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
SCHD in plain words
SCHD is an index equity fund tracking the US dividend. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +27.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 99 positions, with the top ten at 43.7%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or SCHD?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and SCHD returned +27.6%, so SCHD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or SCHD?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and SCHD charges 0.06%, so SCHD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and SCHD overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 95% of SCHD by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 11% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against SCHD, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-SCHD Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources