Which paid more, FGSI or QUSA?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, 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 +9.0% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

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.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FGSI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.3%, though FGSI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.0m for FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF and $20m for VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF.

FGSI on its own →QUSA on its own →

At a glance

8.3%

FGSI cash paid, 1 year

14.6%

QUSA cash paid, 1 year

+9.0%

FGSI total return, 1 year

+1.9%

QUSA 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% 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.

QUSA · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA

+1.9%

SPY

+14.8%

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

14.6% cash

12.9 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

12.9 pts behind SPY

14.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FGSI costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.1 points; QUSA is 10.0 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FGSI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FGSI	QUSA
Paid and earned
Measure	FGSI	QUSA
Total return, 1 year	+9.0%	+1.9%
Price change, 1 year	rose 0.2%	fell 12.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 27, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FGSI	QUSA
Benchmark	First Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGS	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	FGSI	QUSA
Expense ratio	0.85%	0.97%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.0m	$20m
Holdings
Measure	FGSI	QUSA
Holdings in common	23%

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

IQ Income Score63.2FGSI21.9QUSA

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

QUSA 21.9

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

23%

By the books each fund has filed, FGSI and QUSA hold 23% 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

23% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FGSI QUSA

Mastercard Incorporated 2.10% 4.37%

Broadcom Inc. 2.02% 3.32%

Tapestry, Inc. 2.01% 2.12%

NVIDIA Corporation 1.93% 6.15%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 1.88% 2.39%

Applovin Corp. (Class A) 1.83% 2.48%

Newmont Corporation 1.80% 2.87%

Netflix, Inc. 1.79% 3.80%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.73% 3.71%

Fortinet, Inc. 1.51% 2.85%

Expedia Group, Inc. 1.96% 1.38%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 2.01% 1.35%

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 QUSA

Apple Inc 7.27%

Microsoft Corp 6.27%

Visa Inc 5.70%

Alphabet Inc 4.97%

Lam Research Corp 4.91%

Adobe Inc 4.17%

Applied Materials Inc 4.17%

GE Vernova Inc 3.81%

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 QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust VistaShares

Strategy option income covered call

Benchmark First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.3% 15.4%

Expense ratio 0.85% 0.97%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.3% 14.6%

Price change, 1 year +0.2% −12.3%

Total return, 1 year +9.0% +1.9%

Benchmark return, 1 year +8.8% +14.8%

Ahead or behind +0.2 pts −12.9 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 53% 100%

Age 1.4 years 1.5 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.0m $20m

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 QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FGSI	QUSA	FGSI	QUSA	FGSI	QUSA
3 months	−2.2%	−8.5%	2.0%	3.6%	+0.6 pts	−8.4 pts
6 months	+6.3%	−5.5%	4.3%	7.3%	+0.2 pts	−10.5 pts
1 year	+9.0%	+1.9%	8.3%	14.6%	+0.2 pts	−12.8 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FGSI Jun 2025 · QUSA May 2025	+13.6%	−1.8%	11.3%	17.3%	−0.7 pts	−41.3 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.

QUSA

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 12.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +1.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 12.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.4%, paid monthly. VistaShares estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 27, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FGSI or QUSA?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, 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 +9.0% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
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

FGSI vs OCTH FGSI vs OCTJ FGSI vs JANJ FGSI vs JULJ QUSA vs XISE QUSA vs OARK QUSA vs SDTY QUSA vs YSPC

Where to next

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) →S&P 500 (SPY) →FGSI on its own →QUSA on its own →FGSI dividend history →FGSI holdings →QUSA dividend history →QUSA 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 ↗

QUSA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUSA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QUSA 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

VistaShares page for QUSA ↗

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.

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

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