Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) offers older investors a way to build a growing income stream from established companies without betting on volatile AI stocks.

What happened: SCHD is a low-cost fund that tracks U.S. companies selected for dividend quality and consistency, with an expense ratio of 0.06%. Its top holdings include Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, ConocoPhillips, Lockheed Martin, Chevron, and Verizon, each representing roughly 4% of the fund. The most recent quarterly distribution was $0.2569 per share on March 30, 2026, continuing a steady upward trend from 2025's quarterly payments of $0.2488, $0.2602, $0.2604, and $0.2782.

Why it matters: With the 10-year Treasury at 4.49% and the fed funds upper bound at 3.75%, money market returns are shrinking and offer no growth. SCHD provides an income stream that compounds with the underlying companies rather than fading when interest rates change. For investors concerned that the S&P 500 has become a tech fund in disguise, SCHD's under-indexing to AI megacaps serves as a hedge, offering exposure to healthcare, energy, defense, telecom, and staples instead.

What to watch: SCHD has returned 24.21% over the past year, 54.41% over five years, and 224.26% over the past decade on an adjusted basis, but it lags when growth and AI stocks lead—it is down 2.06% over the past week and 0.75% over the past month, despite being up 17.13% year to date. With $71.6 billion（約11兆円） in net assets as of December 31, 2025, the fund is one of the deepest and most liquid dividend ETFs, making it suitable for investors who eventually need to sell shares to fund retirement income.