ACWI vs SCHD: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI IndexSCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 2016–2025
SCHD turned it into
$29,781
+11.53% per year on average · 2016–2025
Difference
+$927
ACWI made more of the same money

ACWI vs SCHD, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
16
where both funds were trading
ACWI won
6
years
SCHD won
10
years
YearACWISCHDWinner
2026 (so far)+12.94%+21.51%SCHD
2025+22.41%+4.34%ACWI
2024+17.45%+11.66%ACWI
2023+22.27%+4.54%ACWI
2022-18.39%-3.26%SCHD
2021+18.66%+29.88%SCHD
2020+16.34%+15.03%ACWI
2019+26.59%+27.29%SCHD
2018-9.12%-5.56%SCHD
2017+24.33%+20.85%ACWI
2016+8.40%+16.45%SCHD
2015-2.21%-0.30%SCHD
2014+3.83%+11.68%SCHD
2013+22.38%+32.88%SCHD
2012+16.75%+11.39%ACWI
2011-7.82%+5.31%SCHD
2010+12.78%——
2009+32.36%——
2008-35.29%——

ACWI vs SCHD in plain words

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI Index while SCHD follows the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: ACWI vs SCHD

FactACWISCHD
FundiShares MSCI ACWI ETFSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
TracksMSCI ACWI IndexDow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.32%0.06%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched26 Mar 200820 Oct 2011
$10,000 investedWhat $10,000 in ACWI becameWhat $10,000 in SCHD became

How bumpy the ride was: ACWI vs SCHD

These head-to-head figures use only the 3,761 trading days both funds were listed: 20 Oct 2011 to 6 Oct 2026, roughly 14.9 years.

ACWI swung more than SCHD: annualised volatility of 16.4% for ACWI against 15.3% for SCHD, with ACWI moving 1% or more on 23.4% of trading days and SCHD on 19.9%. ACWI's worst day was -11.22% on 16 Mar 2020; SCHD's was -9.95% on 12 Mar 2020.

Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: ACWI fell -33.53% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 24 Aug 2020, 5 months after the low; SCHD fell -33.37% from its peak on 23 Jan 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 2 Sept 2020, 5 months after the low.

Day to day the two usually move together: the correlation of their daily returns is 0.86, and they closed in opposite directions on 18.9% of the 3,760 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 30 Jul 2026, when ACWI moved +2.09% and SCHD -1.24%.

MeasureACWISCHD
Annualised volatility16.4%15.3%
Worst day-11.22% on 16 Mar 2020-9.95% on 12 Mar 2020
Best day+8.79% on 9 Apr 2025+8.79% on 13 Mar 2020
Days moving 1% or more23.4% of days19.9% of days
Deepest drawdown-33.53%-33.37%
Peak to trough12 Feb 2020 → 23 Mar 202023 Jan 2020 → 23 Mar 2020
Back above the old peak24 Aug 2020 · 5 months2 Sept 2020 · 5 months

Years ACWI and SCHD parted ways

In 10 of the 15 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2025: ACWI returned +22.41% and SCHD +4.34%, a gap of 18.1 points. They rose together in 11 years, fell together in 3 years and went opposite ways in 1 year.

YearACWISCHDGap (ACWI − SCHD)
2025+22.41%+4.34%+18.1 pts
2024+17.45%+11.66%+5.8 pts
2023+22.27%+4.54%+17.7 pts
2022-18.39%-3.26%-15.1 pts
2021+18.66%+29.88%-11.2 pts
2016+8.40%+16.45%-8.1 pts
2014+3.83%+11.68%-7.9 pts
2013+22.38%+32.88%-10.5 pts
2012+16.75%+11.39%+5.4 pts
2011-7.82%+5.31%-13.1 pts

How often ACWI beat SCHD over any 12 months

Across the 168 rolling 12-month windows since October 2011, measured month-end to month-end, ACWI finished ahead in 39.3% of them (66) and SCHD in 60.7% (102).

12-month windows
168
month-end to month-end, overlapping
ACWI ahead
39.3%
66 of 168 windows
SCHD ahead
60.7%
102 of 168 windows

$200 a month into each, 2012–2025

Putting $200 into each fund at the start of every month from January 2012 to December 2025 (168 payments, $33,600 in total) would have grown to $79,279 in ACWI and $76,130 in SCHD, leaving ACWI $3,149 ahead.

OutcomeACWISCHD
Paid in$33,600$33,600
Value at the end of 2025$79,279$76,130
Gain on the money paid in+$45,679+$42,530
Gain in %+135.95%+126.58%

Each payment rides the return of the month it lands in, dividends reinvested. Only calendar years with all twelve months of data for both funds count, so the plan may start later than the shared history.

Frequently asked

Is ACWI or SCHD better?

Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between ACWI and SCHD?

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI Index while SCHD follows the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

Which is more volatile, ACWI or SCHD?

ACWI swung more than SCHD: annualised volatility of 16.4% for ACWI against 15.3% for SCHD, with ACWI moving 1% or more on 23.4% of trading days and SCHD on 19.9%. ACWI's worst day was -11.22% on 16 Mar 2020; SCHD's was -9.95% on 12 Mar 2020.

Which had the deeper drawdown, ACWI or SCHD?

Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: ACWI fell -33.53% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 24 Aug 2020, 5 months after the low; SCHD fell -33.37% from its peak on 23 Jan 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 2 Sept 2020, 5 months after the low.

How often did ACWI beat SCHD over a 12-month period?

Across the 168 rolling 12-month windows since October 2011, measured month-end to month-end, ACWI finished ahead in 39.3% of them (66) and SCHD in 60.7% (102).

What would $10,000 in ACWI have become?

$10,000 invested in ACWI at the start of 2016 grew to $30,708 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.9% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring ACWI or SCHD.

Source: Yahoo Finance daily adjusted closes for the US primary listings, dividends reinvested. Prices through · refreshed 7 Oct 2026, 08:49 UTC. How every number is calculated.