2 Top High-Yielding Dividend ETFs to Buy for 2026

Investing in high-dividend yield exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can provide investors with a steady income stream and potentially lower portfolio volatility, which is particularly attractive for long-term investors or those nearing retirement. However, it is crucial to balance your desire for a high yield with a focus on quality underlying fundamentals to avoid value traps.

Quality high-yield ETFs can provide regular passive income, which can be invaluable for investors looking to compound their wealth by reinvesting dividends. In addition, dividend-paying companies contained in these ETFs are typically mature and financially stable.

If you’re looking for high-dividend ETFs to invest in right now, here are two names to consider for your portfolio.

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1. SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD +0.14%) tracks the performance of the top 80 high-dividend-yielding companies within the S&P 500. This passively managed fund trades for about $43 per share, offers a higher dividend yield than the broader S&P 500 index (around 1.2%), and has significant sector concentration in areas including real estate, utilities, and financials. The ETF’s trailing 12-month dividend yield is approximately 4.5%. It has a very low expense ratio of 0.07%, which means that a $10,000 investment in this ETF would cost just $7 a year in fees.

The fund’s index selects the 80 highest-yielding stocks from the S&P 500 and weights them equally. The index is rebalanced semi-annually, and the fund currently has over $7.3 billion in net assets under management. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF’s top sector exposure by weighting includes: real estate (21.4%), utilities (13.4%), financials (17.3%), and consumer staples (16.3%).

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

Today’s Change

(0.14%) $0.06

Current Price

$43.50

Key Data Points

Day’s Range

$43.29 – $43.52

52wk Range

$37.92 – $45.48

Volume

1.2M

As of late 2025, the ETF has minimal exposure of less than 2% to the tech sector, an industry that has driven broad market gains in the last few decades. Historically speaking, the ETF’s capital appreciation has remained much lower than the broader market: it’s delivered a total return of about 130% since its inception in 2015, compared to the more than 300% total return of the S&P 500 in the same period. The fund’s top holdings include CVS Health, Viatris, Invesco, Merck, Ford, AbbVie, and US Bancorp.

One caveat to be aware of: The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF’s dividends are taxed as ordinary income rather than capital gains because the fund holds significant investments in various real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are pass-through entities whose distributions have a different tax structure.

If you’re an investor with a more conservative risk tolerance looking to invest in the highest-yielding companies within…