Data as of .
FGSI vs IQQQ: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year FGSI paid 8.1% of its price in cash against IQQQ’s 6.5%, though IQQQ returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: IQQQ scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 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, FGSI and IQQQ hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FGSI | IQQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | 2.45% | 4.92% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | 2.15% | 7.54% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 2.03% | 2.74% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 1.90% | 3.11% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1.85% | 1.72% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 2.04% | 1.47% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) | 2.63% | 1.46% |
| Seagate Technology Holdings Plc | 2.15% | 0.78% |
| Applovin Corp. (Class A) | 1.42% | 0.76% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 2.53% | 0.72% |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | 2.22% | 0.61% |
| Adobe Incorporated | 2.05% | 0.43% |
| Only in FGSI | Only in IQQQ |
|---|---|
| Newmont Corporation 2.70% | ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF 7.60% |
| Arista Networks, Inc. 2.32% | Apple, Inc. 6.74% |
| Target Corporation 2.22% | Micron Technology, Inc. 4.44% |
| CME Group Inc. 2.21% | Amazon.com, Inc. 4.27% |
| ResMed Inc. 2.21% | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.41% |
| Garmin Ltd. 2.15% | Alphabet, Inc. 3.25% |
| Incyte Corporation 2.09% | Tesla, Inc. 3.20% |
| Mastercard Incorporated 2.03% | Alphabet, Inc. 3.01% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGSI | IQQQ | FGSI | IQQQ | FGSI | IQQQ | |
| 3 months | +2.4% | −3.1% | 2.1% | 1.8% | +0.2 pts | −0.6 pts |
| 6 months | +10.0% | +19.1% | 4.4% | 4.2% | −8.0 pts | −5.1 pts |
| 1 year | +5.3% | +17.7% | 8.1% | 6.5% | −11.3 pts | −4.1 pts |
| Since launch | +11.9% | +51.5% | 9.8% | 24.4% | −14.3 pts | −13.0 pts |
| FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | IQQQ ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | ProShares |
| Strategy | option income | option income |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.6% | 5.7% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.97% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.1% | 6.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −3.2% | +10.8% |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.3% | +17.7% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.3 pts | −4.1 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 449 days | 912 days |
| Net assets | $2m | $405m |
FGSI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.3%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.6%, paid monthly.
IQQQ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 10.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 4.1 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.7%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FGSI or IQQQ?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting price in cash and IQQQ paid 6.5%, so FGSI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, FGSI or IQQQ?
- With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +5.3% and IQQQ returned +17.7% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so IQQQ returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FGSI or IQQQ?
- FGSI charges 0.85% a year and IQQQ charges 0.97%, so FGSI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, FGSI against IQQQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-iqqq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.