Is VBTLX or RYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

VBTLX currently yields 3.61% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. RYLD yields 12.14% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: RYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VBTLX and RYLD?

VBTLX has a forward dividend yield of 3.61% ($0.35/share annually). RYLD yields 12.14% ($1.81/share annually). The yield gap is 8.53 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VBTLX vs RYLD

VBTLX vs RYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

VBTLX yields 3.61% · RYLD yields 12.14%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 RYLD wins by $19.3K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VBTLX

● Live price

3.61%

Share price

$9.68

Annual div

$0.35

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.3K

Annual income

$454.70

Full VBTLX 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 — VBTLX 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	VBTLX	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, VBTLX + RYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VBTLX 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.

VBTLX

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

$306.52/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$386.50/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 $1,812.75/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 VBTLX + RYLD for your $10,000?

VBTLX: 50%RYLD: 50%

100% RYLD50/50100% VBTLX

Portfolio after 10yr

$34.9K

Annual income

$1,521.02/yr

Blended yield

4.36%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VBTLX buys

RYLD buys

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

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

MetricVBTLXRYLD

Forward yield	3.61%	12.14% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$0.35	$1.81 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$25.3K	$44.5K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$454.70	$2,587.35 ✓
Total dividends collected	$4.1K	$18.8K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

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

Year	VBTLX Portfolio	VBTLX Income/yr	RYLD Portfolio	RYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,061	$360.61	$11,914	$1,213.65	$853.00 → RYLD
2	$12,208	$372.76	$14,099	$1,351.30	$1.9K → RYLD
3	$13,447	$384.50	$16,580	$1,494.55	$3.1K → RYLD
4	$14,784	$395.82	$19,384	$1,642.61	$4.6K → RYLD
5	$16,225	$406.71	$22,535	$1,794.70	$6.3K → RYLD
6	$17,778	$417.17	$26,063	$1,950.00	$8.3K → RYLD
7	$19,450	$427.19	$29,995	$2,107.69	$10.5K → RYLD
8	$21,248	$436.79	$34,361	$2,266.99	$13.1K → RYLD
9	$23,182	$445.95	$39,194	$2,427.12	$16.0K → RYLD
10	$25,259	$454.70	$44,525	$2,587.35	$19.3K → RYLD

VBTLX vs RYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

VBTLX — Stock

This fund is designed to provide broad exposure to U.S. investment-grade bonds. Reflecting this goal, the fund invests in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities of all maturities (short-, intermediate-, and long-term issues). As with other bond funds, one of the risks of the fund is that increases in interest rates may cause the price of the bonds in the portfolio to decrease—pricing the fund’s net asset value (NAV) lower. Because the fund invests in several segments and maturities of the fixed income market, investors may consider the fund their core bond holding.

Full VBTLX 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.