Over the five years to 30 September 2026, the global dividend fund INCM led with +10.7% a year, just ahead of VHY at +10.2% and SYI at +9.5%. All three beat the plain ASX 200 fund A200 (+6.9% a year). At the bottom, high-fee active and option-income funds such as HVST and SWTZ returned under 5% a year. Low fees and broad holdings have tended to win.
Why we rank by total return, not yield
Most dividend ETF lists are sorted by yield: how much income the fund paid last year as a share of its price. That is a useful number, but it is only half the story.
Total return adds the income to the change in the unit price. A fund that pays a big distribution while its price slowly falls can leave you poorer than a fund with a modest distribution and steady growth. Over time, it is the total return that pays for your retirement, whether you take it as distributions or by selling a few units.
We use five years because it covers a full mix of conditions: the 2022 sell-off, the interest rate rises that followed, and the recovery since. All figures are from the TMX Australia monthly funds report and include distributions reinvested, before tax.
The master ranking
Dividend and income ETFs by 5-year return a year
| # | ETF | Fee | Size | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 5 years (a year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | INCM Betashares Global Dividend Aristocrats | 0.45% | $107m | +10.7% | +53.6% | +66.1% | +10.7% |
| 2 | VHY Vanguard Australian High Yield | 0.25% | $8,193m | +12.0% | +46.1% | +62.4% | +10.2% |
| 3 | SYI SPDR MSCI Australia High Dividend | 0.20% | $739m | +14.8% | +46.7% | +57.1% | +9.5% |
| 4 | UMAX Betashares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser | 0.79% | $331m | +8.9% | +45.8% | +56.8% | +9.4% |
| 5 | IHD iShares Dividend Opportunities | 0.23% | $407m | +8.8% | +46.1% | +52.5% | +8.8% |
| 6 | WDIV SPDR S&P Global Dividend | 0.35% | $417m | +11.5% | +53.7% | +50.3% | +8.5% |
| 7 | RDV Russell High Dividend | 0.34% | $342m | +1.9% | +39.2% | +40.4% | +7.0% |
| A200 (benchmark) | 0.04% | +2.9% | +36.8% | +39.9% | +6.9% | ||
| 8 | ZYUS Global X US High Yield Low Vol | 0.35% | $70m | −1.7% | +27.1% | +34.1% | +6.1% |
| 9 | EIGA Perennial Income Generator | 0.80% | $25m | +4.9% | +25.6% | +32.9% | +5.9% |
| 10 | YMAX Betashares Top 20 Yield Maximiser | 0.76% | $696m | +1.8% | +23.2% | +31.1% | +5.6% |
| 11 | ZYAU Global X ASX 200 High Dividend | 0.24% | $100m | +10.7% | +41.9% | +26.5% | +4.8% |
| 12 | HVST Betashares Dividend Harvester | 0.72% | $278m | +0.0% | +29.2% | +24.9% | +4.5% |
| 13 | SWTZ Switzer Dividend Growth | 0.89% | $53m | +1.3% | +15.4% | +15.2% | +2.9% |
Total returns including distributions to 30 September 2026. 1, 3 and 5-year figures are cumulative; the last column is per year. Source: TMX Australia monthly funds report.
What $10,000 became
Top of the table vs bottom of the table
The spread is wide. $10,000 in INCM five years ago is now worth about $16,600. The same amount in SWTZ is worth about $11,500. Both were sold as income funds.
What the winners have in common
- Low fees. VHY, SYI and IHD all charge 0.20 to 0.25% a year. Four of the bottom six charge 0.72% or more.
- Broad, rules-based holdings. The top Australian funds own 50 to 90 companies chosen by a simple index rule. They are not trying to outguess the market.
- The right sectors at the right time. Banks, miners and energy companies did well over these five years, and dividend funds lean heavily towards them. That helped VHY and SYI beat A200. In a period when technology or healthcare leads, the same tilt could hold them back.
Why the laggards lagged
The funds at the bottom fall into two groups.
- Option-income funds such as YMAX and HVST sell away some of the upside in rising markets in exchange for higher distributions. Over five years of mostly rising markets, that cost more than it paid. We explain why in covered call ETFs exposed. UMAX is the exception near the top, mainly because the US market it is built on rose so strongly.
- Higher-fee active funds such as EIGA and SWTZ have not earned back their fees over this period.
What fees cost on $100,000 over 20 years
The past year: a different leader
Rankings change. Over the 12 months to 30 September 2026, SYI led with +14.8%, VHY made +12.0% and WDIV +11.5%, while the plain A200 managed just +2.9%. ZYAU, near the bottom over five years, returned +10.7% in the past year and +41.9% over three years. One year is too short to judge a fund, which is why we rank on five.
1-year total return
Too new to rank
Several income ETFs have less than five years of history, so we leave them out of the ranking for now:
- Australian dividend: HYLD (+11.2% over one year), DIVI (+7.0%), both listed in 2025.
- Covered call: AYLD, QMAX, QYLD and UYLD.
- Premium income: JEPI and JPEQ.
- Global high yield: VIHY, listed in March 2026.
Franking and frequency
Australian dividend ETFs pass on franking credits from the companies they hold, which can be worth a lot to retirees and SMSFs in pension phase. Global funds such as INCM and WDIV generally do not, so their after-tax result can look different for Australian investors. Most Australian dividend ETFs pay quarterly, and some active income funds pay monthly. Frequency does not change the total return. For more, see ETF tax and franking credits, and browse every high dividend ETF.
Compare the top four side by side →
Common questions
What is the best performing dividend ETF in Australia?
Over the five years to 30 September 2026, INCM returned the most (+10.7% a year), followed by VHY (+10.2%) and SYI (+9.5%). Over the past year, SYI led with +14.8%.
Is VHY a good dividend ETF?
VHY is the largest Australian dividend ETF at $8.2 billion, charges 0.25% a year, and returned +10.2% a year over five years, well ahead of the ASX 200. Its holdings lean heavily to banks and miners.
Do dividend ETFs beat normal index ETFs?
Over the past five years the best Australian dividend ETFs did, because their favoured sectors performed well. That has not always been true, and the high-fee income funds did worse than the plain index.
Which dividend ETFs pay franking credits?
ETFs that hold Australian shares, such as VHY, SYI and IHD, pass on franking credits. Global dividend ETFs generally do not.
Joshua Stega is a financial adviser with 20 years' experience and the founder of ETF Adviser. He built ReviewETF to make every Australian ETF easy to find and compare.
General information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the PDS and TMD before investing. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Data as at 30 September 2026.