What SCHD Is, and Why People Add to It
SCHD (Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF) is one of the most widely held dividend-growth funds among income investors. It holds about 100 U.S. companies screened for dividend quality and has a trailing yield of about 2.9%.
The common complaint is that 2.9% is too little to live on. Several portfolio articles circulating this fall suggested the same fix: keep SCHD as the "core" and add high-yield "satellites" to push the blended yield toward 7%. Those satellites are a covered-call fund, a closed-end infrastructure fund that borrows money, pipeline partnerships, business development companies and net-lease REITs.
This piece tests whether the other 65% of the portfolio earned its place. All figures come from daily prices and distributions as of the Nov 2, 2026 close.
The Book: 6.78% Blended Yield
This is one popular version of the portfolio, with the weights exactly as published. Each yield is the distributions paid over the 12 months through Nov 2, 2026, divided by the Nov 2, 2026 price. These are past payouts, not promises.
Some quick definitions:
- A covered-call fund owns stocks and sells call options on them. The option sales produce extra income, but the fund gives up some of the gains when stocks rise.
- A closed-end fund trades on an exchange at a market price that can differ from the value of what it holds.
- A BDC (business development company) lends to and invests in small private companies.
- A net-lease REIT owns buildings rented to tenants who pay most of the property costs.
- A partnership (MLP) is a pipeline business that passes its income through to unitholders.
| Holding | What it is | Weight | Trailing yield | Share of income |
| SCHD | Dividend-growth stock ETF (the "core") | 35% | 2.94% | 15.2% |
| GPIQ (Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF) | Nasdaq-100 stocks plus calls sold on part of the portfolio | 25% | 10.85% | 40.0% |
| UTF (Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund) | Closed-end infrastructure fund that borrows money | 15% | 7.28% | 16.1% |
| MPLX | Pipeline partnership | 8% | 7.31% | 8.6% |
| MAIN (Main Street Capital) | BDC | 4% | 7.69% | 4.5% |
| HESM (Hess Midstream) | Pipeline company | 3% | 9.52% | 4.2% |
| O (Realty Income) | Net-lease REIT | 2% | 5.64% | 1.7% |
| NNN (NNN REIT) | Net-lease REIT | 2% | 5.85% | 1.7% |
| WPC (W. P. Carey) | Net-lease REIT | 2% | 5.78% | 1.7% |
| TRIN (Trinity Capital) | BDC | 2% | 12.89% | 3.8% |
| WES (Western Midstream) | Pipeline partnership | 2% | 8.37% | 2.5% |
| Total | 100% | 6.78% | 100% |
Four of these trailing figures need a footnote, because they differ from what the holdings pay today:
- MPLX raised its quarterly distribution 12.5% to $1.2111 per unit, payable Nov 13 to holders of record Nov 6. At that rate the yield is about 8.2%, not 7.3%.
- UTF raised its monthly payout from $0.155 to $0.165 in April, so its current rate (about 7.5%) is above the trailing figure.
- TRIN switched from quarterly to monthly payouts this year, so its trailing window holds 13 months of payouts. At its current $0.17 a month, the yield is about 11.9%, not 12.9%.
- MAIN's trailing total includes four $0.30 supplemental payouts, about 28% of the total. Supplementals are not guaranteed. Its regular monthly payout alone works out to about 5.6%.
Who Actually Pays the Income
SCHD is 35% of the money but supplies only 15% of the income. GPIQ supplies 40% on its own. The "SCHD core" label describes how much money is in SCHD, not where the income comes from.
In dollars: $500,000 in the book paid about $33,900 over the last 12 months, roughly $2,830 a month. The same $500,000 in SCHD alone paid about $14,700, roughly $1,230 a month.
GPIQ's payout is mostly option income from selling calls. That income rises and falls with market volatility. It is not a dividend that a company raises each year. The largest single source of income in this book is therefore tied to the Nasdaq-100.
