Which is cheaper, ACEI or ATCL?

ACEI charges 0.79% a year and ATCL charges 0.65%, so ATCL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

ACEI vs ATCL: which paid, and which earned it?

ACEI and ATCL both write options for income. Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF and REX Autocallable Income ETF.

11.1%

ACEI cash paid, 1 year

7.9%

ATCL cash paid, since launch

+5.9%

ACEI total return, 1 year

+5.0%

ATCL total return, since launch

ACEI · 1 year to Sep 30, 20269.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI

+5.9%

SPY

+15.7%

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

11.1% of it arrived as cash

9.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.8 pts behind SPY

ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

ACEI

+5.9%

9.8 pts behind SPY

11.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ACEI over 1 year: paid 11.1%, price −5.7%, total +5.9%, SPY +15.7%, −9.8 pts.

ATCL · since launch to Sep 30, 20267 pts behind SPY

ATCL

+5.0%

SPY

+12.0%

7 pts behind SPY

ATCL since launch: paid 7.9%, price −3.0%, total +5.0%, SPY +12.0%, −7.0 pts.

SPY

+12.0%

ATCL

+5.0%

7.9% of it arrived as cash

7 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

7 pts behind SPY

ATCL since launch: paid 7.9%, price −3.0%, total +5.0%, SPY +12.0%, −7.0 pts.

SPY

+12.0%

ATCL

+5.0%

7 pts behind SPY

7.9% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.7%. ATCL since launch: paid 7.9%, price −3.0%, total +5.0%, SPY +12.0%, −7.0 pts.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ACEI and ATCL hold 96% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.

50%

half

96% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding ACEI ATCL

TREASURY BILL 100.00% 95.94%

Only in ACEI

Only in ATCL

The Laddered T-Bill ETF 4.06%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	ACEI	ATCL	ACEI	ATCL	ACEI	ATCL
3 months	+5.4%	+1.4%	3.3%	3.4%	+2.8 pts	−1.1 pts
6 months	+5.6%	+7.5%	6.5%	7.0%	−11.4 pts	−9.5 pts
1 year	+5.9%	not published	11.1%	not published	−9.8 pts	not published
Since launch ACEI Sep 2025 · ATCL Feb 2026	+6.0%	+5.0%	11.1%	7.9%	−11.2 pts	−7.0 pts

ACEI and ATCL over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

ACEI

Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF · Autocallable on SPY, paying monthly

ATCL

REX Autocallable Income ETF · Autocallable on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer Innovator REX

Strategy autocallable autocallable

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 13.0% 13.7%

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.65%

Cash paid, 1 year 11.1% 7.9% (since launch on Feb 18, 2026)

Price change, 1 year −5.7% −3.0%

Total return, 1 year +5.9% +5.0% (since launch on Feb 18, 2026)

Benchmark return, 1 year +15.7% +12.0%

Ahead or behind −9.8 pts −7.0 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published 77%

Age 370 days 224 days

Net assets $50m $48m

ACEI and ATCL on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ACEI in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 5.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.9%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.8 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.0%, paid monthly.

ATCL in plain words

Over the period since launch on Feb 18, 2026 to Sep 30, 2026, ATCL paid 7.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +12.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.0 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.7%, paid monthly. REX estimates that 77% of the distribution paid Aug 19, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, ACEI or ATCL?: ACEI charges 0.79% a year and ATCL charges 0.65%, so ATCL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ACEI vs ATC ACEI vs CAIQ ACEI vs DACL ACEI vs IACL ATCL vs ACQQ ATCL vs ACRT ATCL vs ACSP ATCL vs ACYQ

S&P 500 (SPY) →ACEI on its own →ATCL on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ACEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ACEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Innovator page for ACEI ↗ATCL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ATCL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗ATCL 19a-1 distribution notice ↗REX page for ATCL ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, ACEI against ATCL, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/acei-vs-atcl

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.