Is VABS or HDV a better dividend investment in 2026?

VABS currently yields 5.20% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. HDV yields 2.92% with 4.8% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: VABS offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VABS and HDV?

VABS has a forward dividend yield of 5.20% ($1.26/share annually). HDV yields 2.92% ($3.96/share annually). The yield gap is 2.28 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VABS vs HDV

VABS vs HDV: Dividend Comparison 2026

VABS yields 5.20% · HDV yields 2.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 VABS wins by $3.9K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VABS

● Live price

5.20%

Share price

$24.18

Annual div

$1.26

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$28.2K

Annual income

$725.90

Full VABS calculator →

HDV

iShares Core High Dividend ETF

● Live price

2.92%

Share price

$135.72

Annual div

$3.96

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$24.3K

Annual income

$351.71

Full HDV calculator →

Portfolio growth — VABS vs HDV

📍 VABS 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	VABS	HDV
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, VABS + HDV cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

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Mar

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Apr

—

May

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Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

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Sep

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Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VABS pays

HDV pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

VABS

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

$442.40/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$617.02/yr

HDV

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

$247.92/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$298.95/yr

At 15% tax rate, VABS beats the other by $318.06/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 VABS + HDV for your $10,000?

VABS: 50%HDV: 50%

100% HDV50/50100% VABS

Portfolio after 10yr

$26.2K

Annual income

$538.81/yr

Blended yield

2.05%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VABS buys

HDV buys

No recent congressional trades found for VABS or HDV in the last 90 days.

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

MetricVABSHDV

Forward yield	5.20% ✓	2.92%
Annual dividend / share	$1.26	$3.96 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$28.2K ✓	$24.3K
Annual income after 10y	$725.90 ✓	$351.71
Total dividends collected	$6.3K ✓	$3.2K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: VABS vs HDV ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VABS Portfolio	VABS Income/yr	HDV Portfolio	HDV Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,220	$520.47	$11,002	$291.67	+$218.00 → VABS
2	$12,552	$545.78	$12,082	$299.61	+$470.00 → VABS
3	$14,001	$570.59	$13,247	$307.23	+$754.00 → VABS
4	$15,576	$594.84	$14,503	$314.52	+$1.1K → VABS
5	$17,285	$618.45	$15,854	$321.50	+$1.4K → VABS
6	$19,136	$641.40	$17,308	$328.15	+$1.8K → VABS
7	$21,139	$663.65	$18,871	$334.49	+$2.3K → VABS
8	$23,304	$685.16	$20,551	$340.53	+$2.8K → VABS
9	$25,641	$705.91	$22,357	$346.27	+$3.3K → VABS
10	$28,162	$725.90	$24,296	$351.71	+$3.9K → VABS

VABS vs HDV: Complete Analysis 2026

VABS — Stock

The Fund seeks to generate income by investing primarily in short-duration, investment-grade securitized debt across asset-backed securities (ABS) and mortgage-backed securities (MBS), including commercial and residential MBS. A disciplined, time-tested investment process and rigorous risk management approach seeks to target ABS and MBS with competitive yield and current income across undervalued areas of securitized credit markets.Effective November 28, 2025, this Fund's name changed from Virtus Newfleet ABS/MBS ETF.

Full VABS Calculator →

HDV — ETF

The iShares Core High Dividend ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of relatively high dividend paying U.S. equities.

Full HDV 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.