Is HLEMX or RYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

HLEMX currently yields 93.52% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. RYLD yields 12.14% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: HLEMX offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between HLEMX and RYLD?

HLEMX has a forward dividend yield of 93.52% ($21.93/share annually). RYLD yields 12.14% ($1.81/share annually). The yield gap is 81.38 percentage points.

Home › Compare › HLEMX vs RYLD

HLEMX vs RYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

HLEMX yields 93.52% · RYLD yields 12.14%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 HLEMX wins by $2.93M in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

HLEMX

● Live price

93.52%

Share price

$23.45

Annual div

$21.93

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$2.98M

Annual income

$959,601.25

Full HLEMX calculator →

RYLD

● Live price

12.14%

Share price

$14.95

Annual div

$1.81

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$44.5K

Annual income

$2,587.35

Full RYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — HLEMX vs RYLD

📍 HLEMX pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	HLEMX	RYLD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, HLEMX + RYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

HLEMX pays

RYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

HLEMX

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$7,949.14/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$815,661.06/yr

RYLD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$1,031.60/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,199.25/yr

At 15% tax rate, HLEMX beats the other by $813,461.82/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of HLEMX + RYLD for your $10,000?

HLEMX: 50%RYLD: 50%

100% RYLD50/50100% HLEMX

Portfolio after 10yr

$1.51M

Annual income

$481,094.30/yr

Blended yield

31.83%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

HLEMX buys

RYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for HLEMX or RYLD in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricHLEMXRYLD

Forward yield	93.52% ✓	12.14%
Annual dividend / share	$21.93 ✓	$1.81
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$2.98M	$44.5K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$959,601.25 ✓	$2,587.35
Total dividends collected	$2.64M	$18.8K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: HLEMX vs RYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	HLEMX Portfolio	HLEMX Income/yr	RYLD Portfolio	RYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$20,052	$9,351.93	$11,914	$1,213.65	+$8.1K → HLEMX
2	$38,981	$17,525.62	$14,099	$1,351.30	+$24.9K → HLEMX
3	$73,551	$31,841.14	$16,580	$1,494.55	+$57.0K → HLEMX
4	$134,848	$56,148.54	$19,384	$1,642.61	+$115.5K → HLEMX
5	$240,495	$96,207.94	$22,535	$1,794.70	+$218.0K → HLEMX
6	$417,688	$160,357.42	$26,063	$1,950.00	+$391.6K → HLEMX
7	$707,211	$260,285.50	$29,995	$2,107.69	+$677.2K → HLEMX
8	$1,168,589	$411,873.44	$34,361	$2,266.99	+$1.13M → HLEMX
9	$1,886,443	$636,052.32	$39,194	$2,427.12	+$1.85M → HLEMX
10	$2,978,095	$959,601.25	$44,525	$2,587.35	+$2.93M → HLEMX

HLEMX vs RYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

HLEMX — Stock

The Portfolio invests at least 80% of its net assets in emerging markets securities, which includes frontier markets securities, and investment companies. It invests at least 65% of its total assets in common stocks, preferred stocks, rights and warrants issued by companies that are based in emerging or frontier markets, securities convertible into such securities (including Depositary Receipts), and investment companies that invest in the types of securities in which the Portfolio would normally invest.

Full HLEMX Calculator →

RYLD — ETF

The Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF (RYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Russell 2000 BuyWrite Index.

Full RYLD Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.