Data as of .
FGSI vs QQQI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQI paid 15.2% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQI 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 QQQI hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FGSI | QQQI |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | 2.45% | 5.84% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | 2.15% | 8.58% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 2.03% | 3.14% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 1.90% | 2.70% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) | 2.63% | 1.79% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1.85% | 1.74% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 2.04% | 1.33% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 2.53% | 0.94% |
| Seagate Technology Holdings Plc | 2.15% | 0.85% |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | 2.22% | 0.62% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 2.06% | 0.55% |
| Adobe Incorporated | 2.05% | 0.45% |
| Only in FGSI | Only in QQQI |
|---|---|
| Newmont Corporation 2.70% | Apple Inc 7.79% |
| Arista Networks, Inc. 2.32% | Micron Technology Inc 5.03% |
| Target Corporation 2.22% | Amazon.com Inc 4.36% |
| CME Group Inc. 2.21% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.02% |
| ResMed Inc. 2.21% | Alphabet Inc 3.24% |
| Garmin Ltd. 2.15% | Alphabet Inc 2.99% |
| Incyte Corporation 2.09% | Tesla Inc 2.91% |
| Mastercard Incorporated 2.03% | Intel Corp 2.44% |
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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGSI | QQQI | FGSI | QQQI | FGSI | QQQI | |
| 3 months | +2.4% | −0.7% | 2.1% | 3.4% | +0.2 pts | +1.8 pts |
| 6 months | +10.0% | +16.7% | 4.4% | 7.7% | −8.0 pts | −7.5 pts |
| 1 year | +5.3% | +16.4% | 8.1% | 15.2% | −11.3 pts | −5.3 pts |
| Since launch | +11.9% | +59.6% | 9.8% | 39.9% | −14.3 pts | −12.3 pts |
| FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | NEOS |
| 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% | 14.0% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.1% | 15.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | −3.2% | −0.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.3% | +16.4% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.3 pts | −5.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 98% |
| Age | 449 days | 962 days |
| Net assets | $2m | $14.8bn |
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.
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.0%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FGSI or QQQI?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting price in cash and QQQI paid 15.2%, so QQQI 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 QQQI?
- With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +5.3% and QQQI returned +16.4% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FGSI or QQQI?
- FGSI charges 0.85% a year and QQQI charges 0.68%, so QQQI 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 QQQI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-qqqi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.