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

ACYS and OCTJ both write options for income. FT Vest Laddered Autocallable Barrier & Resilient Income ETF and Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - October.

1.9%
ACYS cash paid, since launch
5.3%
OCTJ cash paid, 1 year
+4.4%
ACYS total return, since launch
+5.5%
OCTJ total return, 1 year
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%

1.9% cash

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.

OCTJ · 1 year to Sep 30, 202610.3 pts behind SPY
OCTJ
+5.5%
SPY
+15.7%

10.3 pts behind SPY

OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price 0.0%, total +5.5%, SPY +15.7%, −10.3 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

OCTJ

+5.5%

5.3% of it arrived as cash

10.3 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

10.3 pts behind SPY

OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price 0.0%, total +5.5%, SPY +15.7%, −10.3 pts.

SPY

+15.7%

OCTJ

+5.5%

10.3 pts behind SPY

5.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.7%. OCTJ over 1 year: paid 5.3%, price 0.0%, total +5.5%, SPY +15.7%, −10.3 pts.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ACYS and OCTJ 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 OCTJ
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 OCTJ
TREASURY BILL 98.69%
TREASURY BILL 1.31%

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
WindowACYSOCTJACYSOCTJACYSOCTJ
3 months+2.4%+1.0%1.3%1.3%−0.1 pts−1.5 pts
6 monthsnot published+3.4%not published2.7%not published−13.6 pts
1 yearnot published+5.5%not published5.3%not published−10.3 pts
Since launch
ACYS Apr 2026 · OCTJ Oct 2023
+4.4%+18.9%1.9%17.2%−3.8 pts−66.1 pts

ACYS and OCTJ 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
OCTJ
Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - October · Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly
Issuer First Trust 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 7.7% 5.3%
Expense ratio 0.75% 0.79%
Cash paid, 1 year 1.9% (since launch on Apr 23, 2026) 5.3%
Price change, 1 year +2.4% 0.0%
Total return, 1 year +4.4% (since launch on Apr 23, 2026) +5.5%
Benchmark return, 1 year +8.2% +15.7%
Ahead or behind −3.8 pts −10.3 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate not published not published
Age 160 days 1094 days
Net assets $502m $15m

ACYS and OCTJ 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.

OCTJ in plain words

Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, OCTJ paid 5.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +15.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.3 pts. At its price on Sep 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.3%, paid quarterly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, ACYS or OCTJ?
ACYS charges 0.75% a year and OCTJ charges 0.79%, so ACYS is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

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

Open data

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