VT 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.

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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.

VT turned it into
$30,414
+11.77% per year on average · 2016–2025
SCHD turned it into
$29,781
+11.53% per year on average · 2016–2025
Difference
+$633
VT made more of the same money

VT 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
VT won
6
years
SCHD won
10
years
YearVTSCHDWinner
2026 (so far)+12.86%+21.51%SCHD
2025+22.43%+4.34%VT
2024+16.49%+11.66%VT
2023+22.02%+4.54%VT
2022-18.00%-3.26%SCHD
2021+18.27%+29.88%SCHD
2020+16.59%+15.03%VT
2019+26.81%+27.29%SCHD
2018-9.76%-5.56%SCHD
2017+24.50%+20.85%VT
2016+8.50%+16.45%SCHD
2015-1.86%-0.30%SCHD
2014+3.68%+11.68%SCHD
2013+22.94%+32.88%SCHD
2012+17.12%+11.39%VT
2011-7.51%+5.31%SCHD
2010+13.08%——
2009+32.66%——
2008-33.05%——

VT vs SCHD in plain words

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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. Both funds charge 0.06% a year in running costs.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, VT finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,414 in VT versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VT vs SCHD

FactVTSCHD
FundVanguard Total World Stock ETFSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
TracksFTSE Global All Cap IndexDow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.06%0.06%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched24 Jun 200820 Oct 2011
$10,000 investedWhat $10,000 in VT becameWhat $10,000 in SCHD became

How bumpy the ride was: VT 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.

VT swung more than SCHD: annualised volatility of 16.5% for VT against 15.3% for SCHD, with VT moving 1% or more on 23.5% of trading days and SCHD on 19.9%. VT's worst day was -11.64% on 16 Mar 2020; SCHD's was -9.95% on 12 Mar 2020.

VT had the deeper drawdown: it fell -34.24% 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 18.4% of the 3,760 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 30 Jul 2026, when VT moved +2.12% and SCHD -1.24%.

MeasureVTSCHD
Annualised volatility16.5%15.3%
Worst day-11.64% on 16 Mar 2020-9.95% on 12 Mar 2020
Best day+9.14% on 24 Mar 2020+8.79% on 13 Mar 2020
Days moving 1% or more23.5% of days19.9% of days
Deepest drawdown-34.24%-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 VT and SCHD parted ways

In 9 of the 15 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2025: VT returned +22.43% 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.

YearVTSCHDGap (VT − SCHD)
2025+22.43%+4.34%+18.1 pts
2023+22.02%+4.54%+17.5 pts
2022-18.00%-3.26%-14.7 pts
2021+18.27%+29.88%-11.6 pts
2016+8.50%+16.45%-8.0 pts
2014+3.68%+11.68%-8.0 pts
2013+22.94%+32.88%-9.9 pts
2012+17.12%+11.39%+5.7 pts
2011-7.51%+5.31%-12.8 pts

How often VT beat SCHD over any 12 months

Across the 168 rolling 12-month windows since October 2011, measured month-end to month-end, VT finished ahead in 40.5% of them (68) and SCHD in 59.5% (100).

12-month windows
168
month-end to month-end, overlapping
VT ahead
40.5%
68 of 168 windows
SCHD ahead
59.5%
100 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 $78,784 in VT and $76,130 in SCHD, leaving VT $2,653 ahead.

OutcomeVTSCHD
Paid in$33,600$33,600
Value at the end of 2025$78,784$76,130
Gain on the money paid in+$45,184+$42,530
Gain in %+134.47%+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 VT or SCHD better?

Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, VT finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,414 in VT 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 VT and SCHD?

VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap 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. Both funds charge 0.06% a year in running costs. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

Which is more volatile, VT or SCHD?

VT swung more than SCHD: annualised volatility of 16.5% for VT against 15.3% for SCHD, with VT moving 1% or more on 23.5% of trading days and SCHD on 19.9%. VT's worst day was -11.64% on 16 Mar 2020; SCHD's was -9.95% on 12 Mar 2020.

Which had the deeper drawdown, VT or SCHD?

VT had the deeper drawdown: it fell -34.24% 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 VT beat SCHD over a 12-month period?

Across the 168 rolling 12-month windows since October 2011, measured month-end to month-end, VT finished ahead in 40.5% of them (68) and SCHD in 59.5% (100).

What would $10,000 in VT have become?

$10,000 invested in VT at the start of 2016 grew to $30,414 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.8% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring VT 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.