SCHD
Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF
stock NYSE ETF

ETFs and CEFs are a lot easier to manage. I like a combination of Dividend Growth (SCHD DGRO) and Dividend Income (JEPI JEPQ UTG RNP RQI FSCO in a retirement account and EOI EOS GPIQ QQQH QQQI SPYH SPYI in a taxable account).
For individual stocks it gets more complicated but allows for more customization.
Here are my considerations for Dividend Growth stocks (not Dividend Income):
Starting yield at least at least 2x the current yield on SPY
Dividend growth of at least 6% (twice as fast as inflation)
Earnings growth greater than or equal to dividend growth
Payout Ratio less than 60% (80% for Utilities)
10+ years consecutive dividend growth
Credit rating of BBB+ or better
LT Debt/Capital less than 50%
Appropriate Chowder Rule score
Analyst scorecard
No one stock greater than 5% of portfolio and no sector more than 20%
For individual Dividend Income stocks, I want at least 4x the current yield on SPY with some dividend growth (hopefully enough to keep up with inflation)

i love SCHD that being said i have over 15 etfs i am in PLUS individual stoks cd bonds
MULTIFAMILY REAL estate etc MY POINT DIVERSIFY !!!! dont overlook owner occupied 4 family it is a phenomenol return longterm and great tax write off......

Why lie about the dividend growth rate? Just say you dont know, the dividend 5 year cagr average is 11.44% for SCHD

For Dividend Growth I would look at SCHD and DGRO
For Dividend Income I would look at JEPI JEPQ UTG for retirement accounts and EOI EOS GPIQ QQQH QQQI SPYH SPYI in taxable accounts.

I have VTI, BITO, PDBC, VYM, VIG, VNQ and SCHD. My strategy is just DCA, buy-hold-reinvest. I prioritized a mixed of the three. Majority of my ETF holdings pay dividends but only BITO is the high yield because I don't necessarily chase yield.

I guess it would depend on the age of the person and how much they needed in retirement.
If a person was younger maybe a mix of stocks and ETF’s that’s if the target wasn’t interested in realestate.
An older person I’d say stick to ETFs and maybe some vehicles that include SCHD and bonds.
I would meet with a couple of financial advisors and get their opinions. The targets health, longevity, SS payout all have to be taken in to the calculation.
I’m 55 and I have done these things to come up with an end of the line payout that will allow me to retire comfortably.

When I took over managing our accounts I had different strategies for different accounts.
Our retirement account is built around SCHD + SCHG. I am just now starting to add more income funds as we get closer to being able to access the account.
The taxable account was constructed as a Dividend Growth portfolio of individual companies.

Good question. I was 100 % growth as I recall in my first couple of years of retirement after age 51, but it quickly became obvious that selling shares to pay taxes and live on was not a viable long term plan. I began rapidly moving into quality corporate bonds as I could, each bond sized so that when done I could have 50 or 60 different bonds for diversity, to nearly all bonds. Over the years several matured, I bought a few more, some I still own are 6% or better for 25 more years.
For me, corporate bonds were the best choice of a guaranteed payday while I missed out on perhaps the best growth opportunities of a lifetime. Tough life choices.
Several years ago I seriously moved into dividends stocks and CC's. I'm now 45% bonds and 55% dividends / income stocks, CC, BDC, MLP without K-1, etc.
I'm not an advisor, but for me at 28 I'd pick an appropriate mix of growth and some dividends that you think will get you there. Be prepared for volatility to upset your resolve in growth stocks, but try hardest to keep and hold your Dividend Kings and Dividend Aristocrats and great ETF'S (plug here for SCHD as a core) forever. Best wishes on your early retirement, now go make that a serious goal and work toward it; fund 401k's beyond match as much as you can, and fully fund ROTH for you (and spouse if applicable) *every year*.

SCHD pays **4.03%**
Compare to the symbols below which pays **7.23%**
However I see that SCHD issues qualified dividend and the list below is only partial.

Dividend Income: VZ BKE CNQ EPD HESM MPLX AB AFG O VICI EOI EOS GPIQ QQQH QQQI SPYH SPYI UTG

25 years is a long time to plan for her wants and needs being that modest. I guess the only other thing to consider is that all of these income sources vary from month to month. Thankfully SPYI doesn’t vary quite as much as JEPI but if you’ve got $187,500 in it per month, having the dividend swing between $0.46 and $0.55 is a big deal, there are also swings in SCHD and SGOV. SCHG varies less but hardly pays. So if she can’t figure out going back to school or starting a business can she really budget for 4 variable income sources? She may wave to look into Close Ended Funds (CEFs) many of which have the same or higher yield and have paid consistent monthly dividends for years. Those require research as there are good and bad ones. In addition they also funds of these funds which reduce overall risks and provide a consistent dividend like CEFS or YYY.

Are you a paid for SCHD cheerleader?

If you just want suggestions on modifications to this strategy, here's what I would focus on:
* JEPI's yield isn't going to be that high reliably. It usually sits closer to 8%. SPYI would be a better option for a higher yield with similar volatility. Plus it outperforms JEPI in terms of total returns.
* Ditch SCHG at this point. No reason to have a growth fund when income is needed. She can invest in growth once she's got steady income again. You can put that 5% back into SCHD.
* You can squeeze a little extra yield by subbing out SGOV for JAAA. There's slightly more risk in JAAA, but it's not significant IMO.
Now, I will say, the biggest flaw in this fund is that covered call funds pay very inconsistent distributions month-to-month. It may come out to $15k for the year, but some months could be slim and others months be fat. Also, SCHD is going to pay quarterly, so I'm not sure how that figures into her needs. However, there is enough room here because the yield is beyond the $15k that it would probably be fine.
Having said that, if I think there are additional adjustments you could make to the portfolio, especially if the aim is low volatility and drawdown.
* Right now, CLOs are paying decent yields. I mentioned JAAA earlier, but there's also ICLO, CLOZ, and JBBB - all of which are yielding over 6%. These are much more stable than stocks, but don't offer the much price appreciation. They also are based on the prime rate, so factor potential decreases into your calculations.
* A lot of bonds are also paying above 6% and are more resilient to drawdowns. It would be good to add a portion to reduce the overall risk of the portfolio. Bond funds I like are BINC, SPHY, AOHY, FALN, TLTI, and HYBI.
* Preferred shares are also good for yield. I like the VRP ETF, but there's also PFFA. VRP is variable rate. I'm unsure about PFFA. But the nice thing about PFFA is how consistent it is - if you look at the history, its payments are very reliable and predictable.
Adding these 3 categories to the overall blend will pretty greatly reduce the average volatility of the portfolio and come with downside protections (though none are completely immune to drawdowns).
Another area to think about, like I mentioned with PFFA, is the reliably and predictability of the dividends. CEFs and BDCs are usually pretty good about this. MAIN, EOI, EOS, and ETY, are some of my favorite monthly payers who reliably pay the same amount each month, regardless of price movement (though they aren't immune to dividend cuts, they are more resilient). And there's always O, which is also solid for consistent and predictable monthly payments.

> The growth isn't great
Dividend Growth Rate (DGR) is the metric you want to look for. SCHD has their dividend payouts grow at an average of 10% per year, which is a bonkers growth compared to inflation, and all others equities.

Honestly, you mean well but I don’t even get the philosophy/approach. SCHD is great in its place, not certain that buying $25,000 and drawing income from it with no reinvestment does anything for her. Also SPYI is better than JEPI in a taxable account because it’s tax advantaged.
I’m also just unsure how since she can’t find a job, the best solution is to convert her entire $250,000 savings into a poverty level dividend income that she can live on until taking reduced social security. If you’ve got $250,000, there’s training you can get, there are businesses you can start. I just don’t feel this is the best answer based on the information you’re giving.

Why do you choose SCHD? The growth isn't great compared to a lot of ETFs and there seems to be stocks that pay that good of dividends.

Thank you! I’ve heard being young I should invest in dividends that are more “aggressive like S&P 500, QQM etc. I do have SCHD and plan on grabbing much more but still new and learning

There isn't any universal best option. It all depends on what you're looking for.
Some general ideas:
* For a focus on price appreciation and dividend growth that pays qualified dividends, a fund like DGRO is a good choice
* For a standard dividend fund, SCHD generally gets broad approval
* For an aggressive fund that pays high distributions, QQQI or GPIQ are good options
* For a risky play that may yield significant returns, UNH has recently dropped significantly in price (lost 50% in 1 month) so could offer a great deal and a chance to get big returns if much of the recent price drop has been an overreaction

But then SCHD isn't supposed to have Mag7 and AI in the first place? It's like saying orange jam is better than apple jam because it has more orange in it lol

Just hold it as a core position and add some growth it’s also a great hedge in bear cycles/market down turns.
Other than that looking at SCHG and SCHD i would argue the fund managers at Schwab know what they doing. Everyone going nuts about SCHD not „performing“ currently, probably haven’t understand average return yet and what that means over a 20-40y period…

SCHD cheerleader, there's no problems with QQQI.