Data as of .
FGSI vs QUSA: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QUSA paid 13.8% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.1%, though FGSI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: FGSI 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 QUSA hold 20% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FGSI | QUSA |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | 2.45% | 6.08% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | 2.15% | 5.78% |
| Adobe Incorporated | 2.05% | 2.32% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 2.04% | 3.79% |
| Mastercard Incorporated | 2.03% | 2.51% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 2.03% | 4.28% |
| Eli Lilly and Company | 1.93% | 4.24% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 1.90% | 4.70% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1.85% | 4.40% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 2.06% | 1.49% |
| Only in FGSI | Only in QUSA |
|---|---|
| Newmont Corporation 2.70% | Apple Inc 5.99% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.63% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 5.35% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. 2.53% | Caterpillar Inc 4.91% |
| Arista Networks, Inc. 2.32% | Coca-Cola Co/The 4.33% |
| DexCom, Inc. 2.28% | Walmart Inc 4.17% |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 2.22% | Procter & Gamble Co/The 3.85% |
| Target Corporation 2.22% | Lam Research Corp 3.47% |
| CME Group Inc. 2.21% | Visa Inc 3.37% |
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 | QUSA | FGSI | QUSA | FGSI | QUSA | |
| 3 months | +2.4% | −1.9% | 2.1% | 3.6% | +0.2 pts | −3.6 pts |
| 6 months | +10.0% | +10.4% | 4.4% | 7.8% | −8.0 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 1 year | +5.3% | +3.5% | 8.1% | 13.8% | −11.3 pts | −11.7 pts |
| Since launch | +11.9% | +4.9% | 9.8% | 15.1% | −14.3 pts | −25.8 pts |
| FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF Covered call on QUAL, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | VistaShares |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy | USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.6% | 15.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.97% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.1% | 13.8% |
| Price change, 1 year | −3.2% | −11.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.3% | +3.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +15.2% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.3 pts | −11.7 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 449 days | 500 days |
| Net assets | $2m | $22m |
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.
QUSA in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QUSA paid 13.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 11.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.7 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.3%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FGSI or QUSA?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 13.8%, so QUSA 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 QUSA?
- With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +5.3% and QUSA returned +3.5% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so FGSI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FGSI or QUSA?
- FGSI charges 0.85% a year and QUSA 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 QUSA, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-qusa Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.