{"id":2978,"date":"2026-02-15T19:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2978"},"modified":"2026-02-15T19:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:06:30","slug":"want-decades-of-passive-income-buy-this-index-fund-and-hold-it-forever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=2978","title":{"rendered":"Want Decades of Passive Income? Buy This Index Fund and Hold It Forever."},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Want to know what my favorite dividend-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) is? Well, it’s the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF <\/strong>(NYSEMKT: SCHD)<\/span>. It’s worth considering for your portfolio because dividends can be powerful wealth builders — especially when you plow them into more shares of stock.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the power of dividends and why you might consider this ETF. (Remember, an ETF is a fund that trades like a stock.)<\/p>\n

Will AI create the world’s first trillionaire?<\/strong>\u00a0Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an “Indispensable Monopoly” providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need.\u00a0Continue \u00bb<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>
Image source: Getty Images. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To see why I’m a fan of dividend-paying stocks<\/a>, check out the table:<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Dividend-Paying Status<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Average Annual Total Return, 1973-2024<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Dividend growers and initiators<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10.24%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Dividend payers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

9.20%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

No change in dividend policy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

6.75%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Dividend non-payers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.31%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Dividend shrinkers and eliminators<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

(0.89%)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Equal-weighted S&P 500<\/strong> index<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7.65%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div><\/div>\n

Data source: Ned Davis Research and Hartford Funds.<\/p>\n

See? Dividend payers are no slouches. They can deliver a lot of passive income.<\/p>\n

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 <\/strong>index, which holds about 100 carefully selected stocks with track records of paying dividends for at least 10 years — and which also seem to be tied to high-quality companies. Here’s how the Schwab ETF has performed in recent years:<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

ETF<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Recent Yield<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Five-Year Avg. Annual Return<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

10-Year Avg. Annual Return<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

15-Year Avg. Annual Return<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.5%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10.91%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13.55%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

12.30%*<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.1%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13.82%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

16.09%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

13.77%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div><\/div>\n

Source: Morningstar.com, as of Feb. 9, 2026.
*as of inception date, Oct. 20, 2011<\/p>\n

I included the performance of a low-fee S&P 500 index fund for comparison, and you can see that the Schwab ETF isn’t far off from its performance while delivering a lot <\/em>more income. Better still, healthy and growing dividend payers tend to increase their payouts over time. Here are the ETF’s recent top holdings, which recently made up about 42% of the fund’s value:<\/p>\n

\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Stock<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Weight in ETF<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Lockheed Martin<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.60%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Bristol-Myers Squibb<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.29%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Texas Instruments<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.27%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Chevron<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.21%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Merck<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.20%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

ConocoPhillips<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.13%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

PepsiCo<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.06%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Verizon Communications<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4.01%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Altria<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.95%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Coca-Cola<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.93%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div><\/div>\n

Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Feb. 7, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n