These 3 International Dividend ETFs Outyield SCHD and Are Beating the S&P 500 Over the Past Year

Over the year from October 9, 2025, through October 12, 2026, three international dividend funds cleared two bars at once. Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (NASDAQ:VYMI), iShares International Select Dividend ETF (CBOE:IDV) and Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHY) each carry a higher trailing yield than Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHD). Each also beat iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV), the S&P 500 index fund used here as the benchmark proxy. Returns are total returns with distributions reinvested. Yields are trailing 12-month payouts measured against closing prices on October 12, 2026.

VYMI Pairs a 0.07% Fee With the Group’s Best Return

VYMI is the fund most investors should research first. It tracks the FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index, which starts with large and midsize companies across developed and emerging markets outside the U.S., keeps those with above-average forecast dividend yields, and weights them by market value. Real estate investment trusts are excluded.

Because the biggest companies get the biggest weights, the fund acts like the value side of the global market, with income flowing from mature, profitable businesses. It yields 3.7% and returned 24%, the strongest showing of the three, while charging 0.07% a year.

Market-cap weighting caps the income. Investors who want payout will find more in IDV, and the emerging-market sleeve adds political and currency risk that a developed-only fund avoids.

IDV Squeezes Out the Highest Income Through Yield Weighting

IDV leads on income with a trailing yield of 5.8%. Its engine is the Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index, which draws from Europe, Pacific, Asia, and Canada, screens for dividend history and sustainable payouts, then weights survivors by yield. The most generous payers get the largest positions.

Its July filing shows 119 positions, led by TotalEnergies at 5% of assets and British American Tobacco at 4%. Spanish and Italian banks, Nordic lenders like Nordea, Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia, Australia’s Fortescue and South Korea’s Kia fill out a lineup that leans heavily toward Europe.

IDV returned 22% and manages about $8.4 billion, but its 0.5% fee is the highest here. Yield weighting carries a known flaw: a stock whose price falls ahead of a dividend cut looks more generous right up until the cut lands.

SCHY Exports SCHD’s Quality Screen

SCHY is the overlooked option. Its Dow Jones International Dividend 100 Index follows the same recipe as SCHD’s index, requiring a long continuous dividend record and then ranking companies on cash flow relative to debt, return on equity, yield, and dividend growth. Candidates come from developed and emerging markets alike.

BHP, Eni and TotalEnergies each sit near 5% of assets, while India’s Infosys holds 3%. China Construction Bank, Saudi Telecom and Brazil’s Ambev show how far beyond Europe it reaches.

SCHY yields 3.7% and returned 18%, only slightly ahead of IVV.

With roughly $2.3 billion in assets and trading data dating only to 2021, it has the shortest record of the three.

Why Foreign Companies Hand Back More Cash

Sector mix is the first driver. The top holdings across these funds are energy producers (TotalEnergies, Eni, Repsol), banks (ING, NatWest), utilities (Enel, Naturgy), telecom carriers (Telefonica, Orange), and tobacco makers. These businesses generate steady cash and need little reinvestment. The S&P 500 leans on technology companies that retain earnings, which is why IVV yields just 1.1%.

Payout culture comes second. Many European and Australian companies set dividends as a share of earnings and favor cash over buybacks. U.S. companies lean on repurchases, which never appear in a yield figure. Australia’s franking credits, which let local shareholders offset tax on dividends, add another push toward paying out.

Valuation is the third piece. When a market puts a lower price to each dollar of earnings, the same payout ratio produces a higher yield for anyone buying in.

SCHD Beat All Three While Yielding the Least

Over the identical window, SCHD returned 27%, ahead of VYMI, IDV and SCHY. It managed that with a trailing yield of 3.2%, below every fund on this list.

Yield is one component of total return, and price gains in the underlying stocks drove the gap. A bigger payout said nothing about which fund would grow wealth fastest over this stretch.

These funds delivered more income and beat the broad U.S. index, but a U.S. dividend fund was the better place to have money this year. One window tells nothing about the next. These funds add a separate exposure with distinct risks alongside domestic dividend holdings.

Currency Swings and Foreign Withholding Tax Can Shrink Your Dollar Return

Every holding is priced in a foreign currency, from euros and pounds to Australian dollars and Korean won. Your dollar return blends local stock performance with exchange-rate moves. A weakening dollar lifts results, and a strengthening one drags them down even when the companies perform well.

Many countries also withhold tax on dividends before the cash reaches the fund. iShares prospectus language explains that when more than 50% of a fund’s assets are non-U.S. securities at year-end, it may pass those taxes through, letting shareholders claim a deduction or, within limits, a foreign tax credit. That credit works in a taxable brokerage account. The withheld tax is simply lost in an IRA.

Expect Uneven Checks Every Quarter

All three pay quarterly, but amounts swing because many European companies pay once or twice a year, often in spring. IDV paid $0.20 per share in March, $1.10 in June, and $0.53 in September.

VYMI showed the same shape, paying $0.71 in March and $1.26 in June before falling to $0.82.

SCHY’s 2026 checks ran from $0.18 to $0.36. A trailing yield describes the past 12 months and guarantees nothing going forward.

Which International Dividend Fund Fits Each Portfolio Goal

VYMI offers the broadest reach, a minimal fee, and the best return here among international dividend options. IDV suits income-focused investors in taxable accounts who accept a higher fee and heavy European bank and energy weights for the largest yield. SCHY belongs with investors who already trust SCHD’s quality screen and want it applied abroad, emerging markets included.

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