Over the last 10 years, $HDV, $NOBL, $DVY and $SDY have all landed within about 0.9% a year of each other: $DVY 9.76%, $NOBL 9.45%, $HDV 9.43% and $SDY 8.89%, at NAV through September 30, 2026, per iShares, ProShares and State Street. But over 1, 3 and 5 years it isn't close. $HDV has beaten $NOBL in every one of those windows, it charges 0.08% instead of 0.35%, and it yields about 3.05% versus 2.17%.
"$HDV vs $NOBL returns" is one of the most searched matchups on this site right now, and I get why. They're two of the oldest, most popular dividend ETFs out there, and they come at income from opposite directions. One buys high yield. The other buys long dividend streaks. So I added the two other big funds people always lump in with them, $DVY and $SDY, and put all four on the same total return scoreboard.
Total return is the only fair way to settle this: price change plus every dividend, reinvested. Yield is what you get paid. Total return is what you actually earned.
The scoreboard: $HDV vs $NOBL vs $DVY vs $SDY total returns
These are average annual total returns at NAV, straight from each issuer's fund page, all for periods ended September 30, 2026.
| ETF | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Since inception | Expense ratio | Yield | Holdings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $HDV | 17.86% | 16.06% | 12.10% | 9.43% | 10.61% (Mar 2011) | 0.08% | 3.05% | 74 |
| $DVY | 10.80% | 16.35% | 9.68% | 9.76% | 8.74% (Nov 2003) | 0.38% | 3.51% | 98 |
| $NOBL | 7.27% | 9.22% | 6.30% | 9.45% | 10.22% (Oct 2013) | 0.35% | 2.17% | 71 |
| $SDY | 7.23% | 11.26% | 7.28% | 8.89% | 8.73% (Nov 2005) | 0.35% | 2.36% | 155 |
| S&P 500 Index | 15.74% | n/a | 13.79% | 15.33% | n/a | n/a | n/a | ~500 |
Average annual total returns at NAV for periods ended September 30, 2026. Sources: iShares ($HDV, $DVY), ProShares ($NOBL) and State Street Global Advisors ($SDY) fund pages; S&P 500 Index figures from Vanguard's $VOO fact sheet. Yields: 12 month trailing yield as of September 30, 2026 for $HDV, $DVY and $NOBL, and State Street's fund distribution yield for $SDY. Holdings counts are from each issuer as of late September or October 2026. Since inception figures cover very different periods, so don't compare that column across funds. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Three things jump out right away.
- $HDV is the clear winner over 1 and 5 years, and basically tied with $DVY over 3 years (16.06% vs 16.35%).
- Over 10 years, it's a four way photo finish. The gap from first ($DVY) to last ($SDY) is 0.87% a year.
- None of them came close to the S&P 500 over 10 years. The index did 15.33% a year. More on that below.
What $10,000 turned into over 10 years
Same data in dollars, using each fund's annualized 10 year return through September 30, 2026, with dividends reinvested:
- $DVY: about $25,400
- $NOBL: about $24,700
- $HDV: about $24,600
- $SDY: about $23,400
- S&P 500 Index: about $41,600
The four dividend funds finished within about $2,000 of each other. The index finished roughly $16,000 ahead of all of them. That's the honest picture of the last decade for traditional dividend ETFs: they did fine, but big tech did a lot better.
$HDV vs $NOBL: why the recent gap is so big
If the 10 year numbers are basically tied, why has $HDV pulled so far ahead over 1, 3 and 5 years? It comes down to what each fund actually owns.
$HDV buys yield, with a quality screen
$HDV tracks the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index. It goes after higher yielding U.S. stocks and screens for companies that look financially healthy enough to keep paying. It ends up concentrated: 74 holdings, and as of October 22, 2026, about 27% consumer staples, 25% energy, 13% health care and 11% utilities. Technology is under 1%.
That mix has done well lately. Energy and staples carried a lot of the dividend world over the last few years, and $HDV was loaded with both.
$NOBL buys streaks, equal weighted
$NOBL tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats: S&P 500 companies with at least 25 straight years of dividend increases. That gives you 71 stocks, and they're equal weighted, so a mid sized industrial counts as much as a giant.
This is the part most people miss. A 25 year streak tells you a company has been disciplined about its dividend. It doesn't tell you the stock will outperform. Equal weighting also means $NOBL gets less from the biggest winners in any given year, and over the last five years that has hurt.
Fees and yield both favor $HDV
$HDV charges 0.08%. $NOBL charges 0.35%. On $100,000 that's $80 a year versus $350, every year, forever. And $HDV pays more: about 3.05% trailing yield versus 2.17%, so roughly $3,050 versus $2,170 a year on that same $100,000.
One more detail: $HDV moved to monthly distributions in mid 2026. iShares' distribution history shows quarterly payments through June 2026, then monthly payments in July, August, September and October. $NOBL, $DVY and $SDY all pay quarterly. If monthly cash flow matters to you, MonthlyETFs.com tracks the ETFs that pay every month.
For the live side by side on every metric, see our $HDV vs $NOBL total return comparison.
Where $DVY and $SDY fit
$DVY: the highest yield of the four
$DVY tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index, about 100 high yielding U.S. stocks. It has the biggest yield here at 3.51% and the best 10 year return by a hair. But look at the sectors: as of October 22, 2026, about 25% financials and 22% utilities. That's a very different fund from $HDV, even though both get called "high dividend." It also charges 0.38%, the highest fee in this group.
$SDY: Aristocrats with a yield tilt
$SDY tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. The bar is at least 20 consecutive years of dividend increases, and State Street says the stocks are weighted by indicated yield. So it's a streak fund like $NOBL, but it leans toward the higher payers, with 155 holdings drawn from a broader universe than just the S&P 500. It charges 0.35% and has the weakest 10 year number here at 8.89%.
If you want those two head to head, check $DVY vs $SDY and $HDV vs $SDY.
A quick word on $DVY vs $PDI
I see people compare $DVY with PIMCO's $PDI a lot. They're not the same kind of investment. $DVY is a dividend stock ETF. $PDI is a closed end fund that mostly owns bonds and other credit, uses leverage, and can trade at a premium or discount to its NAV. A higher payout from a leveraged bond fund is a different risk than a dividend from a utility stock. If you're comparing them, compare total return over the same period, and understand what you own first.
How I'd actually think about these four
- Want the most income per dollar? $DVY and $HDV yield the most here. $HDV does it for 0.08%, which is hard to beat.
- Want dividend safety through long streaks? $NOBL and $SDY are built on that idea. Just know that, so far, it hasn't translated into better total returns.
- Watch the fee. Three of these four charge 0.35% or more. Paying 4 to 5 times more for a passive dividend fund is a drag every single year.
- Look at sectors, not labels. $HDV is mostly staples and energy. $DVY is mostly financials and utilities. Owning both actually diversifies you more than owning $HDV and $NOBL.
- Judge on total return, live on cash flow. I've been doing this for over 10 years, and the funds I keep are the ones that pay me and still grow the account over time.
You can run any pair yourself with the ETF total return comparison tool. If you want the dividend growth side of this debate, my $SCHD vs $DGRO vs $VIG vs $NOBL vs $VYM total return breakdown shows how $NOBL stacks up against the popular low cost options, and $DGRO vs $NOBL is the matchup people search most. And if you'd rather filter 130+ income ETFs by yield, ratings and price decay in one place, that's what I built TopDividendETFsPRO to do.
The risks
Sector concentration. $HDV is about half staples and energy. $DVY is almost half financials and utilities. If those sectors have a bad stretch, these funds will feel it.
Lagging in tech led markets. All four hold little or no big tech. That's why they trailed the S&P 500 by more than 5% a year over the last decade.
Yield traps. High yield screens can pull in companies whose stock has fallen for a reason. $HDV's quality screen helps, but it's not a guarantee.
Recent numbers can flip. $HDV's big 1 year lead came from a strong run in its sectors. Don't swap funds just because of whatever won last year.
The takeaway
Over 10 years, $HDV, $NOBL, $DVY and $SDY have delivered almost the same total return. Over the last 1, 3 and 5 years, $HDV has been the best of the bunch, and it's also the cheapest by a mile with the second highest yield. If you're choosing between $HDV and $NOBL specifically, the numbers lean $HDV right now: more income, lower fees and stronger recent returns. $NOBL's case is the quality of its long dividend streaks, not its record.
I'd rather own one low cost fund I understand than stack all four, because they overlap more than you'd think in what they're trying to do. Want to explore further? TopDividendETFs.com ranks the top 100 dividend ETFs, and DividendProjection.com shows how a dividend stream can grow year by year.
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Disclaimer: This post is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security, and I am not a financial advisor. Do your own research and consider a licensed professional before investing. Performance data is from iShares, ProShares and State Street Global Advisors as of September 30, 2026, S&P 500 Index figures are from Vanguard as of September 30, 2026, and sector, holdings and distribution data is from each issuer as of October 22 to 25, 2026. Data can be inaccurate or change. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.