Which paid more, EIPI or XLEI?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, EIPI paid 7.7% of its starting price in cash and XLEI paid 22.3%, so XLEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, EIPI or XLEI?

With every distribution reinvested, EIPI returned +21.8% and XLEI +39.2% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, EIPI or XLEI?

EIPI charges 1.11% a year and XLEI charges 0.35%, so XLEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

EIPI vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XLEI paid 22.3% of its price in cash against EIPI’s 7.7%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $1.1bn for FT Energy Income Partners Enhanced Income ETF and $209m for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF.

EIPI on its own →XLEI on its own →

At a glance

7.7%

EIPI cash paid, 1 year

22.3%

XLEI cash paid, 1 year

+21.8%

EIPI total return, 1 year

+39.2%

XLEI total return, 1 year

EIPI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.8 pts behind its own holdings

EIPI

+21.8%

Own

+25.6%

3.8 pts behind its own holdings

EIPI over 1 year: paid 7.7%, price +13.7%, total +21.8%, its own holdings +25.6%, −3.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

its own holdings

+25.6%

EIPI

+21.8%

7.7% as cash

3.8 pts behind its own holdings

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.8 pts behind its own holdings

EIPI over 1 year: paid 7.7%, price +13.7%, total +21.8%, its own holdings +25.6%, −3.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

its own holdings

+25.6%

EIPI

+21.8%

3.8 pts behind its own holdings

7.7% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. EIPI over 1 year: paid 7.7%, price +13.7%, total +21.8%, its own holdings +25.6%, −3.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XLEI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 10.6 pts behind XLE

XLEI

+39.2%

XLE

+49.8%

10.6 pts behind XLE

XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XLE

+49.8%

XLEI

+39.2%

22.3% of it arrived as cash

10.6 pts behind XLE

Total return, distributions reinvested

10.6 pts behind XLE

XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XLE

+49.8%

XLEI

+39.2%

10.6 pts behind XLE

22.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +49.8%. XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +49.8%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XLEI costs 0.76 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.4 points; EIPI is 5.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

EIPI vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	EIPI	XLEI
Paid and earned
Measure	EIPI	XLEI
Total return, 1 year	+21.8%	+39.2%
Price change, 1 year	rose 13.7%	rose 13.8%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	0% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	EIPI	XLEI
Benchmark	its own holdings	Energy sector, measured through XLE
Cost and size
Measure	EIPI	XLEI
Expense ratio	1.11%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$1.1bn	$209m
Holdings
Measure	EIPI	XLEI
Holdings in common	0%

ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · EIPI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?

IQ Income Score95.5EIPI82.3XLEI

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

EIPI 95.5

XLEI 82.3

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

One year only, and a ratio of two published numbers: it says nothing about where a distribution came from. All income ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Risk and return

Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 64 weekly returns

EIPI XLEI

Return

Total return edge XLEI +26.9% +55.9%

Annualized edge XLEI +21.4% +43.4%

Price return edge XLEI +16.2% +22.3%

Risk

Volatility edge EIPI 11.5% 15.6%

Max drawdown edge EIPI −4.9% −7.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLEI 1.41 2.15

Sortino edge XLEI 2.26 3.42

Calmar edge XLEI 4.37 5.47

Reading

From Aug 2025 to Oct 2026, XLEI returned more: +55.9% to +26.9%. EIPI swung less: 11.5% to 15.6%. EIPI fell less at its worst: −4.9% to −7.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: EIPI vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	EIPI	XLEI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+26.9%	+55.9%	XLEI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+21.4%	+43.4%	XLEI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+16.2%	+22.3%	XLEI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	11.5%	15.6%	EIPI	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	7.2%	9.8%	EIPI	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−4.9%	−7.9%	EIPI	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	1.41	2.15	XLEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	2.26	3.42	XLEI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	4.37	5.47	XLEI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 64 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EIPI and XLEI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EIPI XLEI

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EIPI

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. 8.56%

Energy Transfer LP 6.48%

MPLX LP 4.47%

Kinder Morgan, Inc. 3.97%

ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. 3.53%

ONEOK, Inc. 3.03%

Shell plc (ADR) 2.79%

Duke Energy Corporation 2.58%

Only in XLEI

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC 100.78%

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 70.5 CALL -0.02%

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 72.5 CALL -0.02%

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 69 CALL -0.04%

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 71 CALL -0.07%

STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 70 CALL -0.76%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EIPI FT Energy Income Partners Enhanced Income ETF · Covered call on its own holdings, paying monthly XLEI State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF · Covered call on XLE, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust State Street

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark EIPI's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026) Energy sector (XLE)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 6.8% 22.0%

Expense ratio 1.11% 0.35%

Cash paid, 1 year 7.7% 22.3%

Price change, 1 year +13.7% +13.8%

Total return, 1 year +21.8% +39.2%

Benchmark return, 1 year +25.6% +49.8%

Ahead or behind −3.8 pts −10.6 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 0% 100%

Age 2.5 years 1.3 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $1.1bn $209m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: EIPI vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	EIPI	XLEI	EIPI	XLEI	EIPI	XLEI
3 months	+2.2%	+9.7%	1.7%	5.3%	+0.3 pts	−1.8 pts
6 months	+2.5%	+14.8%	3.4%	10.5%	+1.1 pts	+1.9 pts
1 year	+21.8%	+39.2%	7.7%	22.3%	−3.7 pts	−10.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: EIPI May 2024 · XLEI Jul 2025	+49.6%	+41.9%	24.0%	27.2%	not measured	−8.4 pts

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About each fund

EIPI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, EIPI paid 7.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 13.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.8%. EIPI's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026) returned +25.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.8%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

XLEI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XLEI paid 22.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 13.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +39.2%. Energy sector (XLE) returned +49.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.6 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 22.0%, paid monthly. State Street estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, EIPI or XLEI?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, EIPI paid 7.7% of its starting price in cash and XLEI paid 22.3%, so XLEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, EIPI or XLEI?: With every distribution reinvested, EIPI returned +21.8% and XLEI +39.2% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, EIPI or XLEI?: EIPI charges 1.11% a year and XLEI charges 0.35%, so XLEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

EIPI vs WEEI EIPI vs MDST EIPI vs GPTY EIPI vs USOY XLEI vs NUKX XLEI vs WEPN XLEI vs MDST XLEI vs USOY

Where to next

Energy sector (XLE) →EIPI on its own →XLEI on its own →EIPI dividend history →EIPI holdings →XLEI dividend history →XLEI holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

EIPI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EIPI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

EIPI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for EIPI ↗

XLEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

XLEI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EIPI against XLEI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/eipi-vs-xlei

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