Investing Insights 9 Top ETFs for Income Investors That Stood Out in 2025
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Dec 26, 2025 
Bryan Armour, an ETF specialist from Morningstar, and Dan Sotiroff, editor of ETF Investor, explore top-performing ETFs for income investors. They discuss how factor investing impacts dividend strategies, detailing a checklist for selecting dividend ETFs. Highlights include gold-rated Vanguard and Schwab funds. Sotiroff explains the rising popularity of bond ETFs in 2025, discussing their stability and diverse options like Fidelity's core-plus fund. They also delve into the attraction of covered-call ETFs, balancing current income with long-term growth risks.
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SCHD Offers A Focused Income-Growth Mix
- Schwab's SCHD targets consistent dividend payers and profitable firms, blending value, low volatility, and quality in a concentrated portfolio.
- Expect higher income and profitability from its roughly 100-stock lineup versus broader dividend ETFs.
Bond ETFs Saw Big Flows As Yields Returned
- Bond ETFs attracted roughly a third of ETF inflows in 2025 as investors favored ETFs and bonds offered positive yields after years near zero.
- Managers also launched many new bond ETFs to meet demand and compete in less-saturated areas.
Use Core Bond ETFs As Portfolio Ballast
- Use core bond ETFs as portfolio ballast because they provide low volatility and low correlation with stocks.
- Start with broad, low-cost funds like Vanguard BND or iShares AGG for predictable diversification.