Which paid more, FGSI or QLDY?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QLDY paid 35.3%, so QLDY 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 QLDY?

With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +9.0% and QLDY +9.1% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FGSI or QLDY?

FGSI charges 0.85% a year and QLDY charges 1.04%, so FGSI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FGSI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.3% and the two finished level on total return.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.0m for FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF and $53m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF.

FGSI on its own →QLDY on its own →

At a glance

8.3%

FGSI cash paid, 1 year

35.3%

QLDY cash paid, 1 year

+9.0%

FGSI total return, 1 year

+9.1%

QLDY total return, 1 year

FGSI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 About even with FTGS

FGSI

+9.0%

FTGS

+8.8%

About even with FTGS

FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

FTGS

+8.8%

FGSI

+9.0%

8.3% of it arrived as cash

about even with FTGS

Total return, distributions reinvested

About even with FTGS

FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

FTGS

+8.8%

FGSI

+9.0%

8.3% as cash

about even with FTGS

8.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QLDY · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY

+9.1%

QQQ

+12.3%

3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QLDY

+9.1%

35.3% of it arrived as cash

3.2 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.2 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QLDY

+9.1%

35.3% as cash

3.2 pts behind QQQ

35.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FGSI costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; QLDY is far larger, $53m against $2.0m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FGSI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FGSI	QLDY
Paid and earned
Measure	FGSI	QLDY
Total return, 1 year	+9.0%	+9.1%
Price change, 1 year	rose 0.2%	fell 27.2%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	0% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FGSI	QLDY
Benchmark	First Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGS	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	FGSI	QLDY
Expense ratio	0.85%	1.04%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.0m	$53m
Holdings
Measure	FGSI	QLDY
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score63.2FGSI24.9QLDY

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

FGSI 63.2

QLDY 24.9

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FGSI and QLDY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FGSI QLDY

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FGSI

Vertiv Holdings Co (Class A) 2.28%

Eli Lilly and Company 2.25%

United Therapeutics Corporation 2.25%

Blackstone Inc. 2.21%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 2.20%

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 2.18%

General Dynamics Corporation 2.16%

S&P Global Inc. 2.16%

Only in QLDY

Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 92.84%

United States Treasury Note/bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 0.49%

Exchange Put Opt 11/26 28320 0.15%

Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05%

Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 11/26 28470 -0.24%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF · Writes calls on the S&P 500, measured against The Growth Strength Index, paying monthly QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly

Issuer First Trust Defiance

Strategy option income option income

Benchmark First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly weekly

Payout rate, annualized 8.3% 19.7%

Expense ratio 0.85% 1.04%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.3% 35.3%

Price change, 1 year +0.2% −27.2%

Total return, 1 year +9.0% +9.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +8.8% +12.3%

Ahead or behind +0.2 pts −3.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 53% 0%

Age 1.4 years 1.1 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.0m $53m

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: FGSI vs QLDY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FGSI	QLDY	FGSI	QLDY	FGSI	QLDY
3 months	−2.2%	−4.5%	2.0%	9.5%	+0.6 pts	−1.1 pts
6 months	+6.3%	−3.1%	4.3%	18.5%	+0.2 pts	−2.8 pts
1 year	+9.0%	+9.1%	8.3%	35.3%	+0.2 pts	−3.2 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FGSI Jun 2025 · QLDY Sep 2025	+13.6%	+13.2%	11.3%	39.1%	−0.7 pts	−3.7 pts

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Alert

About each fund

FGSI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.0%. First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) returned +8.8% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 53% 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.

QLDY

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 27.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.7%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Nov 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FGSI or QLDY?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QLDY paid 35.3%, so QLDY 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 QLDY?: With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +9.0% and QLDY +9.1% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FGSI or QLDY?: FGSI charges 0.85% a year and QLDY charges 1.04%, so FGSI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FGSI vs QDTY FGSI vs QQQY FGSI vs QYLG FGSI vs QRMI QLDY vs TPAY QLDY vs ODTE QLDY vs XIMR QLDY vs XISE

Where to next

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →FGSI on its own →QLDY on its own →FGSI dividend history →FGSI holdings →QLDY dividend history →QLDY holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FGSI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FGSI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FGSI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FGSI ↗

QLDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QLDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QLDY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Defiance page for QLDY ↗

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, FGSI against QLDY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-qldy

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