Is SMM or RYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

SMM currently yields 22.35% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. RYLD yields 12.14% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: SMM offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between SMM and RYLD?

SMM has a forward dividend yield of 22.35% ($2.00/share annually). RYLD yields 12.14% ($1.81/share annually). The yield gap is 10.21 percentage points.

Home › Compare › SMM vs RYLD

SMM vs RYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

SMM yields 22.35% · RYLD yields 12.14%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 RYLD wins by $20.8K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

SMM

● Live price

22.35%

Share price

$8.95

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

-50%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$23.8K

Annual income

$2.64

Full SMM 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 — SMM vs RYLD

📍 RYLD 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	SMM	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, SMM + RYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

SMM 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.

SMM

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

$1,899.44/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2.24/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, RYLD beats the other by $2,197.00/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 SMM + RYLD for your $10,000?

SMM: 50%RYLD: 50%

100% RYLD50/50100% SMM

Portfolio after 10yr

$34.1K

Annual income

$1,294.99/yr

Blended yield

3.79%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on RYLD right now

SMM

Analyst Ratings

Sell

Consensus: Sell

RYLD

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

SMM buys

RYLD buys

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

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

MetricSMMRYLD

Forward yield	22.35% ✓	12.14%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00 ✓	$1.81
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-50%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$23.8K	$44.5K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$2.64	$2,587.35 ✓
Total dividends collected	$2.4K	$18.8K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

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

Year	SMM Portfolio	SMM Income/yr	RYLD Portfolio	RYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,817	$1,117.32	$11,914	$1,213.65	$97.00 → RYLD
2	$13,262	$617.00	$14,099	$1,351.30	$837.00 → RYLD
3	$14,513	$323.55	$16,580	$1,494.55	$2.1K → RYLD
4	$15,695	$165.46	$19,384	$1,642.61	$3.7K → RYLD
5	$16,877	$83.61	$22,535	$1,794.70	$5.7K → RYLD
6	$18,100	$42.01	$26,063	$1,950.00	$8.0K → RYLD
7	$19,389	$21.06	$29,995	$2,107.69	$10.6K → RYLD
8	$20,756	$10.54	$34,361	$2,266.99	$13.6K → RYLD
9	$22,214	$5.27	$39,194	$2,427.12	$17.0K → RYLD
10	$23,772	$2.64	$44,525	$2,587.35	$20.8K → RYLD

SMM vs RYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

SMM — Stock

Salient Midstream & MLP Fund is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Salient Capital Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It invests in stocks of companies operating in the energy sector, including transporting, storing, gathering, processing, distributing, marketing and/or delivering natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil or refined products or coal. The fund primarily invests in midstream companies and master limited partnerships. It invests in stocks of large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap companies. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Alerian MLP Index. Salient Midstream & MLP Fund was formed on May 24, 2012 and is domiciled in the United States.

Full SMM 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.