Weight Overlap
~8% shared by weight
Guardfolio Research · ETF Overlap
SCHD vs VOO: Real Diversification or Cosmetic Tilt?
SCHD and VOO are not high-overlap duplicates. They share roughly 8% overlap by weight and around 47 holdings, but SCHD's sector mix is much less dominated by mega-cap technology than VOO's. The real question is not “do these funds overlap?” It is “does SCHD change the portfolio enough to justify holding both?”
Shared Holdings
47 names · low weight redundancy
Tech Exposure
SCHD 10% vs VOO 31.5%
Risk Snapshot
ConcentrationModerate
OverlapModerate
CorrelationModerate
DrawdownModerate
Read This As
This pair is not about avoiding overlap entirely. It is about whether the dividend-quality tilt is real enough to change behavior, income profile, and concentration meaningfully.
Core Insight
This pair is about style differentiation, not just overlap avoidance
SCHD plus VOO is not automatically redundant. The pair only becomes lazy duplication when the investor assumes “dividend ETF plus S&P 500 ETF” is diversified without checking whether SCHD materially changes sector mix, income profile, and drawdown behavior. The issue here is less about extreme overlap and more about whether the style tilt is strong enough to matter.
What Makes This Pair Different
Why SCHD plus VOO is more nuanced than many ETF comparisons
Unlike combinations such as QQQ plus VOO or VGT plus QQQ, this pair is not mainly a story about the same mega-cap growth names showing up twice. SCHD holds roughly 100 stocks, VOO holds about 500, and only about 47 names overlap. By weight, the overlap is around 8%, which is much lower than most investors expect when they first compare the two.
That lower overlap number is why this pair deserves a different interpretation. The real decision is whether you want the broad S&P 500 exposure from VOO plus a deliberate dividend and quality tilt through SCHD, or whether you are simply creating a more complicated version of a US large-cap portfolio with a second fund that does not change enough.
Top Holdings Side by Side
SCHD's leaders are very different from VOO's leaders
VOO is led by Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet. SCHD is led by Cisco, Broadcom, Chevron, Home Depot, Merck, Pepsi, Lockheed Martin, Coca-Cola, Amgen, and Texas Instruments. The overlap exists, but the leadership basket is very different, which is why the pair behaves more like a style mix than a pure duplication case.
| # | SCHD holding | SCHD wt. | VOO holding | VOO wt. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CSCO — Cisco | 4.4% | AAPL — Apple | 7.0% |
| 2 | AVGO — Broadcom | 4.2% | MSFT — Microsoft | 6.5% |
| 3 | CVX — Chevron | 4.1% | NVDA — NVIDIA | 6.0% |
| 4 | HD — Home Depot | 4.1% | AMZN — Amazon | 3.7% |
| 5 | MRK — Merck | 4.0% | META — Meta | 2.5% |
| 6 | PEP — PepsiCo | 4.0% | GOOGL — Alphabet A | 2.0% |
| 7 | LMT — Lockheed Martin | 4.0% | AVGO — Broadcom | 1.8% |
| 8 | KO — Coca-Cola | 4.0% | GOOG — Alphabet C | 1.7% |
| 9 | AMGN — Amgen | 4.0% | TSLA — Tesla | 1.5% |
| 10 | TXN — Texas Instruments | 4.0% | BRK.B — Berkshire | 1.4% |
Source: Guardfolio ETF dataset built from Schwab and Vanguard fact sheets · Q1 2026 holdings
Sector Breakdown
SCHD meaningfully reduces the mega-cap tech tilt in VOO
SCHD's main value in this pair is not overlap avoidance alone. It is that SCHD changes the sector mix in a measurable way. SCHD is about 10% technology versus VOO's 31.5%, and it brings more energy, consumer staples, and healthcare into the combined sleeve.
| Sector | SCHD | VOO | 50/50 blend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | 10.0% | 31.5% | 20.8% |
| Financial Services | 18.0% | 13.5% | 15.8% |
| Healthcare | 16.0% | 11.0% | 13.5% |
| Consumer Staples | 14.0% | 5.5% | 9.8% |
| Energy | 13.0% | 3.5% | 8.3% |
| Industrials | 11.0% | 8.0% | 9.5% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 8.0% | 10.5% | 9.3% |
| Communication Services | 4.0% | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| Materials | 4.0% | 2.0% | 3.0% |
| Utilities | 1.5% | 2.5% | 2.0% |
| Real Estate | 0.5% | 2.0% | 1.3% |
Source: Guardfolio ETF dataset · Q1 2026 sector weights
Concrete Comparison
What the actual overlap data says
~8% overlap by weight
That is far below the 45% to 50% overlap seen in more redundant pairs like QQQ plus VOO.
47 overlapping holdings
The funds share names, but not enough to treat them like near-duplicates.
48% of SCHD also appears in VOO
Much of SCHD's portfolio still sits inside the large-cap US universe, which is why the pair is related even when not highly redundant.
Only 9% of VOO also appears in SCHD
VOO is much broader, so SCHD acts more like a selective tilt layered onto the larger core.
That combination of low overlap by weight but meaningful shared large-cap exposure is what makes this a legitimate “maybe” pair rather than an obvious duplication mistake.
What To Check
Where the pair helps and where it can still disappoint
Overlapping defensive names
Shared positions such as Chevron, Procter & Gamble, Home Depot, Merck, and Coca-Cola show that SCHD still lives inside the large-cap US equity map rather than outside it.
Lower mega-cap growth weight
SCHD is materially underweight names like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet versus VOO, which is where most of the style differentiation comes from.
Sector mix change
The pair only earns its place if it actually reduces your dependence on the same mega-cap growth leadership that already dominates VOO.
Household context
If other accounts already hold dividend funds, value funds, or broad US equity, even this moderate-overlap pair can become repetitive at the household level.
This pair teaches a more useful lesson than “all overlap is bad.” Some overlap is normal. The harder question is whether the second fund changes the account enough to be worth the added complexity.
Interpretation
When this pair improves a portfolio and when it just complicates it
This pair can make sense for an investor who wants a core large-cap US equity allocation but does not want all of that risk dominated by the same mega-cap technology names that now lead the S&P 500. SCHD reduces that dominance, raises income quality, and pulls the sleeve toward defensive sectors.
But a good thesis still needs a reason. If the investor already owns value funds, dividend funds, or broad US equity elsewhere, SCHD plus VOO can become a cosmetic tilt that adds complexity more than genuine diversification. The right question is not “is the overlap low?” but “does the style mix change the portfolio enough to matter?”
What Guardfolio Would Flag
The difference between a deliberate tilt and a cosmetic tilt
Moderate overlap with a measurable style change
This is often acceptable if the dividend or quality tilt materially changes sector mix, income characteristics, or drawdown behavior.
Moderate overlap with no meaningful behavior change
If the pair mostly preserves the same return path, it may be adding complexity more than diversification.
Household duplication across accounts
A moderate overlap pair in one account can still be redundant once retirement and taxable holdings are viewed together.
Unmeasured style assumptions
Investors often believe they own a safer or more balanced mix without checking whether the actual exposures validate that belief.
Methodology
How to use this page
This is an educational overlap interpretation, not investment advice. The purpose is to help investors evaluate whether this pair provides a real style complement or a form of true diversification rather than just another layer of familiar US large-cap exposure.
FAQ
Common questions about SCHD and VOO
What is the overlap between SCHD and VOO?
SCHD and VOO overlap by roughly 8% by weight and share around 47 holdings. That is materially lower than high-redundancy ETF pairs, but it still means SCHD remains inside the broad US large-cap universe.
Is SCHD redundant if I already own VOO?
Not automatically. SCHD can add a real dividend-quality tilt because its sector mix and top holdings differ meaningfully from VOO. The question is whether that tilt is intentional and large enough to matter in the full portfolio.
What does SCHD add to VOO?
SCHD adds more dividend quality, more energy and consumer staples exposure, and much less mega-cap technology concentration than VOO. In return it adds complexity and keeps you inside the same broad US equity map.
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