Trump dumps $25M VIG as SCHD dividend ETF surges 30%

Trump sold $5 million to $25 million of the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF in June, his largest disclosed trade, per his ethics filing.

"The president's assets are held in a trust managed by his children and no conflicts of interest exist," Davis Ingle, White House spokesman, said after Trump's first-quarter disclosure in May. The filing discloses only value ranges, not exact amounts, and offers no rationale for the sale.

The sale, reported by CNBC from the Office of Government Ethics periodic transaction filing on Aug. 22, came alongside purchases of Fidelity National Information Services and Home Depot, each in a $1 million to $5 million range, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund. Trump did not sell the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF, which closed Friday at $35.11, up 30.1 percent year to date, versus VIG's $243.91, up 11.89 percent.

The divergence between the two funds — SCHD up 32.24 percent over the past year against VIG's 18.6 percent — reflects a value-factor revival, an energy tailwind, and SCHD's structural exclusion of the AI mega-caps. What's worth watching next is oil, AI capex trends, and whether SCHD's late-July highs get taken out again into September.

The funds are built differently. VIG tracks the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index, requiring 10-plus consecutive years of dividend increases and excluding the highest-yielding top 25 percent of eligible names. SCHD tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index, screening on current yield and financial strength. Energy is roughly 12.5 percent to 15 percent of SCHD's assets, while technology sits around 9 percent.

SCHD's outperformance has widened as the year progressed. As of Aug. 14, SCHD was up about 27.92 percent year to date against the S&P 500's roughly 13.85 percent, with one outlet calling it the fund's biggest win over the index on record. Its trailing 12-month dividend of about $1.048 per share yields roughly 3.3 percent, more than double the S&P 500's 1.3 percent. Over five years, SCHD is up 63.75 percent and VIG 65.06 percent — essentially tied.

Three factors explain SCHD's 2026 run. A value-factor revival has the fund trading around 18 to 19 times forward earnings with return on equity of about 26.5 percent. Energy holdings including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and EOG Resources benefited as Brent averaged around $106 a barrel in May and June on Strait of Hormuz disruption tied to the Iran conflict. And SCHD's dividend-quality screen structurally excludes the AI-infrastructure mega-caps — Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, and Alphabet — that led the market from 2023 through 2025 but stumbled in stretches of 2026.

The bull case for SCHD rests on a mean-reversion cycle favoring dividend-value funds after years of underperformance. The bear case: the energy tailwind depends on continued Middle East supply disruption, and roughly $700 billion in 2026 AI capital expenditure from major tech companies could reassert mega-cap leadership, a scenario where SCHD would lag given its lack of exposure to the biggest AI names.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.