Data as of .
FGSI vs QYLD: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QYLD paid 12.5% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QYLD 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 QYLD hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FGSI | QYLD |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | 2.45% | 5.84% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | 2.15% | 8.54% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 2.03% | 3.15% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 1.90% | 2.71% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) | 2.63% | 1.80% |
| Costco Wholesale Corporation | 1.85% | 1.75% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 2.04% | 1.31% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 2.53% | 0.94% |
| Seagate Technology Holdings Plc | 2.15% | 0.86% |
| Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | 2.22% | 0.61% |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 2.06% | 0.55% |
| Adobe Incorporated | 2.05% | 0.43% |
| Only in FGSI | Only in QYLD |
|---|---|
| Newmont Corporation 2.70% | APPLE INC 7.82% |
| Arista Networks, Inc. 2.32% | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 5.05% |
| Target Corporation 2.22% | AMAZON.COM INC 4.36% |
| CME Group Inc. 2.21% | ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.02% |
| ResMed Inc. 2.21% | ALPHABET INC-CL A 3.27% |
| Garmin Ltd. 2.15% | TESLA INC 3.05% |
| Incyte Corporation 2.09% | ALPHABET INC-CL C 3.02% |
| Mastercard Incorporated 2.03% | SPACE EXPLORATION TECHN-CL A 2.88% |
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.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FGSI | QYLD | FGSI | QYLD | FGSI | QYLD | |
| 3 months | +2.4% | +3.2% | 2.1% | 3.0% | +0.2 pts | +5.7 pts |
| 6 months | +10.0% | +14.5% | 4.4% | 6.3% | −8.0 pts | −9.7 pts |
| 1 year | +5.3% | +23.0% | 8.1% | 12.5% | −11.3 pts | +1.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +55.3% | not published | 36.6% | not published | −42.9 pts |
| Since launch | +11.9% | +198.3% | 9.8% | 116.0% | −14.3 pts | −644.6 pts |
| FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | Global X |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.6% | 11.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 0.60% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.1% | 12.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −3.2% | +9.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.3% | +23.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.3 pts | +1.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 449 days | 4663 days |
| Net assets | $2m | $8.5bn |
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.
QYLD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QYLD paid 12.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 9.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +23.0%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.8%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Aug 27, 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 QYLD?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.5%, so QYLD 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 QYLD?
- With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +5.3% and QYLD returned +23.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QYLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FGSI or QYLD?
- FGSI charges 0.85% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD 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 QYLD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-qyld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.