While the stock market doesn't offer any guarantees, top-rated ETFs have a higher chance of delivering on their promises. Whether you want to beat the market or generate high cash flow without much volatility, an ETF with a five-star rating from Morningstar is more likely to get the job done.

A good example of this comes from some simple math around Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (NYSEMKT: SCHD), starting with just a $500 investment. What does Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF do? Before getting into the math,