HDV vs VYM: Dividend Comparison

At $138.92 per share, $10,000 buys about 72.0 shares of iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV). Each share pays $3.91 per year in dividends, so the position starts out generating roughly $282 per year — about $23 a month.

At $155.43 per share, $10,000 buys about 64.3 shares of Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM). Each share pays $3.50 per year in dividends, so the position starts out generating roughly $225 per year — about $19 a month.

HDV is the larger income stream from day one: $56 per year more on the same $10,000 invested.

iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV) has raised its dividend about 2.8% a year over the past five years. If that pace held, the $296 per year that $10,000 generates today at the current 2.96% yield would reach $389 per year by 2036 — a 3.9% yield on the original cost.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) has raised its dividend about 3.1% a year over the past five years. If that pace held, the $233 per year that $10,000 generates today at the current 2.33% yield would reach $317 per year by 2036 — a 3.2% yield on the original cost.

On those trailing rates, HDV pays more in 2036: $389 versus $317 per year. The projection assumes each five-year growth rate persists and no dividends are reinvested — real payouts will differ.

Not within a realistic holding period. Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) is growing its dividend faster (3.1% vs 2.8% a year), but the starting-yield gap — 2.96% for HDV vs 2.33% for VYM — is wide enough that the crossover sits more than 30 years out on trailing rates. For income you plan to spend, HDV's head start is decisive.

REWD has neither an earnings-per-share figure nor a payout ratio for iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV) and Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) — typical for ETFs and covered-call funds, whose distributions are funded by the underlying portfolio (stock dividends, option premium, or return of capital) rather than a single company's earnings. For a fund, judge sustainability by the distribution history and the strategy behind it, not a payout ratio.

For income you need right now, iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV) leads: $100,000 invested today pays about $247 a month at the current 2.96% yield, versus $194 a month from Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) at 2.33%.

On consistency: VYM has raised its dividend 15 consecutive years.

Many income investors simply hold both — the mix pairs current yield with growth and spreads single-name risk. Whichever way you lean, dividends are never guaranteed; recheck the payout each quarter rather than setting and forgetting.