This high dividend equity portfolio balances income focus with moderate diversification and defensive factor tilts

Report created on Apr 21, 2026

Risk profile

  • Secure
    Speculative

The risk profile, derived from past market volatility, reflects the level of risk the portfolio is exposed to. This assessment helps align your investments with your financial goals and comfort with market fluctuations.

Diversification profile

  • Focused
    Diversified

The diversification assessment evaluates the spread of investments across asset classes, regions, and sectors. This ensures a balanced mix, reducing risk and maximizing returns by not concentrating in any single area.

Positions

This portfolio is a focused mix of eight dividend-oriented equity ETFs, all in stocks, with no bonds or cash. The largest pieces are two funds at 20% each, followed by two at 15%, two at 10%, and two smaller 5% slices. Most holdings target high-dividend companies, with a blend of U.S. and international income strategies. This structure makes the purpose very clear: generate equity income rather than broad market exposure. The reasonably spread weights prevent it from being a “single-fund” portfolio, yet everything shares a common dividend theme. That shared focus can be helpful for clarity, but it also means risk and return are tied closely to how dividend-paying companies perform as a group.

Growth Info

Over the period from late 2022 to April 2026, $1,000 grew to $1,624, which is a 14.47% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). CAGR is like the steady yearly speed needed to get from the starting value to the final value. This return lagged both the U.S. and global market benchmarks by about 4 percentage points per year. However, the portfolio’s maximum drawdown – the largest peak‑to‑trough drop – was milder at -12.22%, compared with deeper falls for the benchmarks. This pattern often shows up in income‑oriented strategies: they can lag in strong bull phases but may cushion declines somewhat when markets get rough.

Projection Info

The Monte Carlo projection uses historical return and volatility patterns to simulate 1,000 possible 15‑year futures for a $1,000 investment. Think of it as rolling the dice many times based on past behavior to see a range of plausible outcomes, not a prediction. The median result is $2,712, with a wide but reasonable “middle band” from about $1,793 to $4,072. The overall average annualized return across simulations is 7.96%, and roughly three‑quarters of paths end positive. These numbers highlight both potential growth and uncertainty: future returns could be much higher or lower than history suggests, and past trends are never a guarantee.

Asset classes Info

  • Stocks
    100%

All of this portfolio is in stocks, with 100% allocated to equities and no allocation to bonds, cash, or alternatives. That makes it straightforward to understand, but it also means there is no built‑in ballast from more stable asset classes. Relative to many multi‑asset benchmarks that mix stocks and bonds, this portfolio will naturally move more in line with equity markets. Within equities, the focus on dividend strategies still leaves room for diversification across industries and regions, but asset class diversification is limited by design. The risk score of 3/7 reflects that, despite the dividend tilt, this is still an all‑equity portfolio.

Sectors Info

  • Financials
    18%
  • Energy
    13%
  • Consumer Staples
    12%
  • Health Care
    10%
  • Technology
    9%
  • Consumer Discretionary
    9%
  • Industrials
    8%
  • Utilities
    8%
  • Telecommunications
    5%
  • Basic Materials
    3%
  • Real Estate
    3%

Sector exposure is tilted toward traditional income areas: financials (18%), energy (13%), consumer staples (12%), health care (10%), and utilities (8%) together make up a large chunk. Technology and consumer discretionary sit at 9% each, lower than what’s common in broad market indices that are often tech‑heavy. This alignment with classic dividend sectors can help support more stable cash flows, since many of these industries have mature, cash‑generative businesses. On the flip side, if growth‑oriented sectors outperform, a dividend‑heavy mix like this may trail broader benchmarks. The spread across ten sectors, though, is fairly balanced and supports the “moderately diversified” label.

Regions Info

  • North America
    83%
  • Europe Developed
    9%
  • Japan
    3%
  • Latin America
    1%
  • Asia Developed
    1%
  • Australasia
    1%
  • Asia Emerging
    1%

Geographically, the portfolio is strongly anchored in North America at 83%, with smaller allocations to developed Europe (9%), Japan (3%), and a smattering of other regions. That makes it more U.S./North America‑centric than a typical global equity benchmark, where the U.S. is large but not this dominant. A home bias like this can align well with a U.S. investor’s currency and economic exposure, which may make returns feel more intuitive. At the same time, it leaves limited representation for the rest of the world’s markets. The international dividend ETFs provide some diversification, but the center of gravity clearly remains in North America.

Market capitalization Info

  • Large-cap
    50%
  • Mid-cap
    23%
  • Mega-cap
    18%
  • Small-cap
    6%

By market capitalization, the portfolio leans toward larger companies: about 50% in large‑cap, 18% in mega‑cap, 23% in mid‑cap, and 6% in small‑cap stocks. Market cap simply reflects the total value of a company; mega and large‑cap firms are typically more established and often have steadier dividends. This tilt toward the bigger end of the spectrum can help reduce some volatility compared with a small‑cap‑heavy portfolio. At the same time, the mid‑ and small‑cap slices add some growth and diversification potential. Overall, the size mix looks reasonably balanced for a dividend approach, without relying heavily on very small or speculative companies.

True holdings Info

  • Verizon Communications Inc
    2.15%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
    • iShares Select Dividend ETF
  • Chevron Corp
    2.11%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
  • Merck & Company Inc
    1.60%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
  • PepsiCo Inc
    1.54%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
  • Exxon Mobil Corp
    1.52%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
  • Microsoft Corporation
    1.36%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
    • Fidelity® High Dividend ETF
  • Pfizer Inc
    1.31%
    Part of fund(s):
    • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    • iShares Select Dividend ETF
  • Apple Inc
    1.27%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
    • Fidelity® High Dividend ETF
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co
    1.14%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
    • Fidelity® High Dividend ETF
  • Caterpillar Inc
    1.08%
    Part of fund(s):
    • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
  • Top 10 total 15.07%

Looking through ETF top‑10 holdings, the largest underlying company exposures include Verizon, Chevron, Merck, PepsiCo, Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Pfizer, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Caterpillar. Each sits around 1–2% of the total portfolio, reflecting overlap across multiple dividend ETFs. This overlap creates some hidden concentration: for example, a stock like Verizon or Chevron may appear in several funds, slightly amplifying exposure relative to looking at each ETF in isolation. Coverage here is only about 37% of the portfolio because we’re using top‑10 holdings, so actual overlap is probably somewhat higher. Still, no single company dominates, which helps keep stock‑specific risk contained.

Factors Info

Value
Preference for undervalued stocks
Very high
Data availability: 100%
Size
Exposure to smaller companies
Neutral
Data availability: 100%
Momentum
Exposure to recently outperforming stocks
Low
Data availability: 90%
Quality
Preference for financially healthy companies
Neutral
Data availability: 90%
Yield
Preference for dividend-paying stocks
Very high
Data availability: 100%
Low Volatility
Preference for stable, lower-risk stocks
High
Data availability: 100%

Factor exposures are estimated using statistical models based on historical data and measure systematic (market-relative) tilts, not absolute portfolio characteristics. Results may vary depending on the analysis period, data availability, and currency of the underlying assets.

Factor exposure shows very high tilts toward value (86%) and yield (86%), plus a high tilt toward low volatility (75%). Factors are like investment “personalities” – value favors cheaper stocks, yield targets higher dividends, and low volatility emphasizes steadier price movements. This combination aligns closely with the portfolio’s income focus and cautious risk score. In strong growth or momentum‑driven markets, such a value‑and‑yield tilt can underperform, as seen in the historic performance relative to broad benchmarks. But in choppier or more defensive environments, these tilts may help cushion downside and keep returns steadier. Neutral size and quality exposures suggest no strong bias in those areas.

Risk contribution Info

  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
    Weight: 20.00%
    21.0%
  • iShares Select Dividend ETF
    Weight: 15.00%
    16.8%
  • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
    Weight: 20.00%
    16.3%
  • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund
    Weight: 15.00%
    15.7%
  • Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF
    Weight: 10.00%
    9.9%
  • Top 5 risk contribution 79.6%

Risk contribution looks at how much each holding drives the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from simple weight. The top three ETFs by weight contribute just over half of total risk, broadly in line with their combined allocation. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity and iShares Select Dividend contribute slightly more risk than their weights, while Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend contributes a bit less. That indicates there isn’t an obvious “sleeping giant” position where a small weight drives disproportionate volatility. Instead, risk is reasonably shared across the biggest holdings, which fits the moderate diversification score and supports a more balanced risk profile.

Redundant positions Info

  • iShares Select Dividend ETF
    SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF
    High correlation

The correlation data highlights that the iShares Select Dividend ETF and the SPDR S&P 500 High Dividend ETF move almost identically. Correlation measures how often two investments move together; when it’s very high, they behave like close siblings. In practice, this means those two slices are providing similar patterns of return and risk, even though they’re separate funds. High correlation inside a theme, like high‑dividend U.S. stocks, is normal, but it also limits how much diversification benefit you get from holding both. The rest of the portfolio’s diversification, therefore, relies more on other strategies and international exposure than on these two funds offsetting each other.

Risk vs. return

This chart shows the Efficient Frontier, calculated using your current assets with different allocation combinations. It highlights the best balance between risk and return based on historical data. "Efficient" portfolios maximize returns for a given risk or minimize risk for a given return. Portfolios below the curve are less efficient. This is informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell any assets.

Click on the colored dots to explore allocations.

The efficient frontier analysis compares this portfolio with the best possible mixes of its existing holdings. The current portfolio has a Sharpe ratio of 0.8, while the optimal mix of the same ETFs reaches 1.34, and the minimum‑variance mix reaches 1.13. The Sharpe ratio is a simple measure of risk‑adjusted return: how much extra return you get per unit of volatility, after accounting for a risk‑free rate. Being 3.8 percentage points below the frontier at the current risk level means the same building blocks could, in theory, be combined in a way that improves the risk/return balance without adding anything new, purely through different weightings.

Dividends Info

  • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF 4.20%
  • iShares Select Dividend ETF 3.40%
  • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund 3.70%
  • Fidelity® High Dividend ETF 2.80%
  • Fidelity® International High Dividend ETF 4.10%
  • Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF 5.20%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 3.40%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 4.30%
  • Weighted yield (per year) 3.87%

The portfolio’s overall dividend yield is 3.87%, noticeably higher than many broad equity indices in recent years. Individual ETFs range from about 2.8% to over 5.2%, with the two Amplify funds and the international high dividend ETF sitting toward the higher end. Dividend yield is the annual cash payout as a percentage of the current price, so this level of income can be a meaningful part of total return, especially if reinvested. A stronger income stream can help smooth the ride in sideways markets, even if capital appreciation lags growth‑heavy benchmarks at times. The yield profile here clearly matches the portfolio’s dividend‑income objective.

Ongoing product costs Info

  • Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF 0.56%
  • iShares Select Dividend ETF 0.38%
  • First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund 0.45%
  • Fidelity® High Dividend ETF 0.15%
  • Fidelity® International High Dividend ETF 0.18%
  • Amplify International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF 0.66%
  • Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
  • SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 0.07%
  • Weighted costs total (per year) 0.34%

The weighted average Total Expense Ratio (TER) is 0.34%, which is moderate and generally reasonable for a specialized dividend strategy. Some holdings, like the Schwab and SPDR ETFs, are very low cost at 0.06–0.07%, closer to broad index fees. Others, particularly the Amplify funds and the First Trust ETF, charge higher fees around 0.45–0.66%, reflecting more specialized or enhanced approaches. Costs reduce returns every year, so lower fees leave more of the portfolio’s income and growth in place to compound. Overall, this blended cost is not excessive, and the presence of several low‑fee core dividend funds is a positive structural feature.

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