Markets· August 16, 2026 at 02:46 p.m.
High-Yield ETFs Outperform S&P 500 in 2026, Offering Dividends up to 4%
Key takeaways
- HDV, FDL, and DTD have outperformed the S&P 500 in 2026
- The three ETFs yield near 3%
- SPY has gained 13% year to date
In a reversal of a decade-long trend, three high-dividend exchange-traded funds (ETFs) - the iShares Core High Dividend ETF (HDV), the First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund (FDL), and the WisdomTree U.S. Total Dividend Fund (DTD) - have outperformed the S&P 500 in 2026, with yields near 3%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has gained 13% year to date through August 7, while HDV has returned 20%, FDL 19%, and DTD 16%.
