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

Over the year ACEI paid 11.1% of its price in cash against JULH’s 4.8%, and returned more with it reinvested. Innovator Equity Autocallable Income Strategy ETF and Innovator Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - July.

11.1%
ACEI cash paid, 1 year
4.8%
JULH cash paid, 1 year
+5.9%
ACEI total return, 1 year
+4.5%
JULH total return, 1 year
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.

JULH · 1 year to Sep 30, 202611.2 pts behind SPY
JULH
+4.5%
SPY
+15.7%

11.2 pts behind SPY

JULH over 1 year: paid 4.8%, price −0.4%, total +4.5%, SPY +15.7%, −11.2 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

JULH

+4.5%

4.8% as cash

11.2 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

11.2 pts behind SPY

JULH over 1 year: paid 4.8%, price −0.4%, total +4.5%, SPY +15.7%, −11.2 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

JULH

+4.5%

11.2 pts behind SPY

4.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.7%. JULH over 1 year: paid 4.8%, price −0.4%, total +4.5%, SPY +15.7%, −11.2 pts.

ETFIQ Return Stability Score · JULH scores higherWas the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
4.0, the lowest in this set97.4, the highest

A percentile among the 175 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ACEI and JULH hold 100% 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.

half

100% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding ACEI JULH
TREASURY BILL 100.00% 100.00%
Only in ACEI
Only in JULH

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

Performance, window by window

Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowACEIJULHACEIJULHACEIJULH
3 months+5.4%+2.0%3.3%1.6%+2.8 pts−0.5 pts
6 months+5.6%+3.6%6.5%2.7%−11.4 pts−13.4 pts
1 year+5.9%+4.5%11.1%4.8%−9.8 pts−11.2 pts
3 yearsnot published+21.9%not published18.6%not published−63.0 pts
Since launch
ACEI Sep 2025 · JULH Jul 2023
+6.0%+22.9%11.1%20.3%−11.2 pts−55.9 pts

ACEI and JULH 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
JULH
Innovator Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - July · Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly
Issuer Innovator Innovator
Strategy autocallable defined income
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays monthly quarterly
Payout rate, annualized 13.0% 6.6%
Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%
Cash paid, 1 year 11.1% 4.8%
Price change, 1 year −5.7% −0.4%
Total return, 1 year +5.9% +4.5%
Benchmark return, 1 year +15.7% +15.7%
Ahead or behind −9.8 pts −11.2 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate not published not published
Age 370 days 1185 days
Net assets $50m $17m

ACEI and JULH 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.

JULH in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, JULH paid 4.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +4.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.2 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.6%, paid quarterly.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, ACEI or JULH?
Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, ACEI paid 11.1% of its starting price in cash and JULH paid 4.8%, so ACEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, ACEI or JULH?
With every distribution reinvested, ACEI returned +5.9% and JULH +4.5% over the year to Sep 30, 2026.
Which is cheaper, ACEI or JULH?
ACEI charges 0.79% a year and JULH charges 0.79%, so ACEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

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

Open data

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