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I have a soft spot for it Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD). With a fairly low 0.06% expense ratio, investors essentially get a high-quality, value-oriented multifactor ETF.
It tracks the Dow Jones US Dividend 100 index, which does not simply pursue the highest yields. Companies must have at least 10 years of consistent dividend payments and are screened on metrics including free cash flow to total debt, return on equity, dividend yield and five-year dividend growth.
The income is also respectable. According to the latest data, SCHD offers a relatively reasonable 3.35% 30-day SEC yield while trading at 19.07 times earnings, making it significantly cheaper than the broader S&P 500 index.
He said, international stocks still remain cheap. And if your goal is to broadly mirror the global stock market, about 30% to 40% of the equity portfolio will typically be allocated to international developed and emerging markets. However, investors who want to remain focused on dividends don’t necessarily find it necessary to sacrifice income to achieve that diversification.
Here are two international dividend ETFs that some income investors are choosing alongside or instead of SCHD.
Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF (SCHY)
Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF (SCHY) Serves as the global equivalent of SCHD. The fund’s assets under management have grown to approximately $2.3 billion and its expense ratio is down to a very competitive 0.08%.
SCHY tracks the Dow Jones International Dividend 100 Index, applying many of the same quality screens used by SCHD. The result is a portfolio with a clear large-cap value bias, but at significantly cheaper valuations. The portfolio currently trades at approximately 15.2 times earnings compared to 19.07 for SCHD, while still maintaining strong profitability with a 22.15% return on equity compared to 26.54% for SCHD. Price-to-book is also lower at 2.61 compared to 3.84.
International companies also pay somewhat higher dividends than their US counterparts. As a result, SCHY currently offers a 3.89% 30-day SEC yield, but one drawback is taxes. International dividends are generally subject to foreign withholding taxes before reaching US investors.
In taxable accounts, investors can often recoup some or all of those taxes through foreign tax credits, reducing the overall impact. While this adds a little more complexity than owning a domestic dividend ETF, it is generally not as punitive as many investors believe. Those who prefer to avoid this issue altogether may choose to prefer SCHIs inside a Roth IRA.
Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF (IDVO)
If SCHY’s 3.89% yield isn’t high enough, investors seeking higher income may want to consider Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF (IDVO). Unlike SCHY, IDVO is actively managed rather than index-based.
The portfolio typically consists of 30 to 50 American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) selected from the MSCI ACWI ex-US universe. Companies are evaluated based on earnings growth, free cash flow, dividend growth, return on equity, market capitalization and management quality.
The portfolio is then enhanced through a strategic covered call strategy. Instead of writing calls on a broad international index, managers write selectively covered calls on individual holdings. This approach generally preserves more edge than traditional index-wide covered call strategies while generating additional option income.
The result is the current 5.94% distribution rate, calculated by annualizing the most recent monthly distribution and dividing it by the fund’s net asset value. Despite offering a lower headline yield than many covered call ETFs, IDVO has delivered impressive total returns.
Over the three-year period ending June 30, 2026, the fund grew at an annualized 21.88%, assuming distributions were reinvested. That performance earns IDVO a 5-star rating in the 82-fund Derivative Income category, reflecting strong historical risk-adjusted returns, according to Morningstar.
The primary drawback is cost. At a 0.65% expense ratio, IDVO is significantly more expensive than SHY. Investors considering the fund should be prepared to hold it for a long period of time to give their active strategy time to justify those higher fees.
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