Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SCHD vs SMH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SCHD returned +34.5% to SMH's +56.8%, and SCHD charges 0.06% to SMH's 0.35%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about SCHD and SMH
Net assets: $112.3bn on Aug 31, 2026 for Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, and $71.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for VanEck Semiconductor ETF.
Pair scorecard
SCHD costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.3 points.
| Measure | SCHD | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +34.5% | +56.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 15.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index | Semiconductors |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 43.4 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, SCHD as of Aug 31, 2026 and SMH as of Oct 27, 2026 | $112.3bn | $71.1bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 81% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 6% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 41.7% | 69% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 773 weekly returnsSMH returned more: +3,977.0% to +547.0%. SCHD swung less: 14.7% to 26.9%. SCHD fell less at its worst: −31.5% to −44.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SCHD | SMH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +547.0% | +3,977.0% | SMH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.4% | +28.3% | SMH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +304.2% | +3,365.0% | SMH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 14.7% | 26.9% | SCHD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.3% | 17.5% | SCHD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −31.5% | −44.2% | SCHD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.81 | 1.00 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.16 | 1.53 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.43 | 0.64 | SMH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 773 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SCHD and SMH hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
6% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SCHD and SMH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SCHD and SMH do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SCHD follows Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and SMH follows Semiconductors.
- Holdings in common. 6% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SCHD returned +34.5% and SMH +56.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 22.3 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
SCHD
SCHD tracks an index of US dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +34.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings filed for Aug 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 99 positions, with the top ten at 41.7%.
SMH
By weight, 79% of SMH's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 81%. The top ten holdings are 69% of the fund across 25 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +56.8% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 43.4 pts. It sits 15.1% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are SCHD and SMH in the same category?
- SCHD is a stock ETF and SMH is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, SCHD or SMH?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SCHD returned +34.5% and SMH +56.8%.
- Which is cheaper, SCHD or SMH?
- SCHD is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, SCHD against SMH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/schd-vs-smh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SCHD against SMH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/schd-vs-smh
[SCHD against SMH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/schd-vs-smh)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.