ACYS vs CAIQ: which paid, and which earned it?

ACYS and CAIQ both write options for income. FT Vest Laddered Autocallable Barrier & Resilient Income ETF and Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF.

1.9%
ACYS cash paid, since launch
13.7%
CAIQ cash paid, since launch
+4.4%
ACYS total return, since launch
+19.6%
CAIQ total return, since launch
ACYS · since launch to Sep 30, 20263.8 pts behind SPY
ACYS
+4.4%
SPY
+8.2%

3.8 pts behind SPY

ACYS since launch: paid 1.9%, price +2.4%, total +4.4%, SPY +8.2%, −3.8 pts.

SPY

+8.2%

ACYS

+4.4%

3.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.8 pts behind SPY

ACYS since launch: paid 1.9%, price +2.4%, total +4.4%, SPY +8.2%, −3.8 pts.

SPY

+8.2%

ACYS

+4.4%

3.8 pts behind SPY

1.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ACYS since launch: paid 1.9%, price +2.4%, total +4.4%, SPY +8.2%, −3.8 pts.

CAIQ · since launch to Sep 30, 20267.3 pts behind QQQ
CAIQ
+19.6%
QQQ
+26.9%

7.3 pts behind QQQ

CAIQ since launch: paid 13.7%, price +4.7%, total +19.6%, QQQ +26.9%, −7.3 pts.

QQQ

+26.9%

CAIQ

+19.6%

13.7% of it arrived as cash

7.3 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

7.3 pts behind QQQ

CAIQ since launch: paid 13.7%, price +4.7%, total +19.6%, QQQ +26.9%, −7.3 pts.

QQQ

+26.9%

CAIQ

+19.6%

7.3 pts behind QQQ

13.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +26.9%. CAIQ since launch: paid 13.7%, price +4.7%, total +19.6%, QQQ +26.9%, −7.3 pts.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ACYS and CAIQ hold 0% 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 Sep 30, 2026.

half

0% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding ACYS CAIQ
Only in ACYS
U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 11/27/2026 33.88%
U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/31/2026 33.55%
U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 30.06%
US Dollar 1.65%
ACYS Autocall Derivative Citi 0.46%
ACYS Autocall Derivative BNP 0.20%
ACYS Autocall Derivative JPMorgan 0.20%
Only in CAIQ
Calamos Tax-Aware Collateral ETF 100.00%

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
WindowACYSCAIQACYSCAIQACYSCAIQ
3 months+2.4%+2.6%1.3%2.9%−0.1 pts+0.5 pts
6 monthsnot published+18.4%not published8.0%not published−8.4 pts
Since launch
ACYS Apr 2026 · CAIQ Nov 2025
+4.4%+19.6%1.9%13.7%−3.8 pts−7.3 pts

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

On the same fields

ACYS
FT Vest Laddered Autocallable Barrier & Resilient Income ETF · Autocallable on SPY, paying monthly
CAIQ
Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF · Autocallable on QQQ, paying monthly
Issuer First Trust Calamos
Strategy autocallable autocallable
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 7.7% 17.5%
Expense ratio 0.75% 0.74%
Cash paid, 1 year 1.9% (since launch on Apr 23, 2026) 13.7% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025)
Price change, 1 year +2.4% +4.7%
Total return, 1 year +4.4% (since launch on Apr 23, 2026) +19.6% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025)
Benchmark return, 1 year +8.2% +26.9%
Ahead or behind −3.8 pts −7.3 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate not published not published
Age 160 days 314 days
Net assets $502m $167m

ACYS and CAIQ on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ACYS in plain words

Over the period since launch on Apr 23, 2026 to Sep 30, 2026, ACYS paid 1.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +4.4%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +8.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.8 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.7%, paid monthly.

CAIQ in plain words

Over the period since launch on Nov 20, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026, CAIQ paid 13.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +19.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +26.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.3 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 17.5%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, ACYS or CAIQ?
ACYS charges 0.75% a year and CAIQ charges 0.74%, so CAIQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

ETFIQ, ACYS against CAIQ, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/acys-vs-caiq

Open data

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