ACWI 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.

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI 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.

ACWI turned it into
$30,708
+11.87% per year on average · 20162025
SCHD turned it into
$29,781
+11.53% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$927
ACWI made more of the same money

ACWI 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
ACWI won
6
years
SCHD won
10
years
YearACWISCHDWinner
2026 (so far)+11.66%+17.51%SCHD
2025+22.41%+4.34%ACWI
2024+17.45%+11.66%ACWI
2023+22.27%+4.54%ACWI
2022-18.39%-3.26%SCHD
2021+18.66%+29.88%SCHD
2020+16.34%+15.03%ACWI
2019+26.59%+27.29%SCHD
2018-9.12%-5.56%SCHD
2017+24.33%+20.85%ACWI
2016+8.40%+16.45%SCHD
2015-2.21%-0.30%SCHD
2014+3.83%+11.68%SCHD
2013+22.38%+32.88%SCHD
2012+16.75%+11.39%ACWI
2011-7.82%+5.31%SCHD
2010+12.78%
2009+32.36%
2008-35.29%

ACWI vs SCHD in plain words

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI 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. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI versus $29,781 in SCHD by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: ACWI vs SCHD

FactACWISCHD
FundiShares MSCI ACWI ETFSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
TracksMSCI ACWI IndexDow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.32%0.06%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched26 Mar 200820 Oct 2011

Frequently asked

Is ACWI or SCHD better?

Across the 16 calendar years both funds were trading, ACWI finished the year ahead 6 times and SCHD 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $30,708 in ACWI 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 ACWI and SCHD?

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI 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. ACWI charges 0.32% a year in running costs and SCHD charges 0.06% — SCHD is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in ACWI have become?

$10,000 invested in ACWI at the start of 2016 grew to $30,708 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 11.9% per year.

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