Which paid more, FGSI or QYLD?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.3%, 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 +9.0% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

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.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FGSI vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.3%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $2.0m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF, and $8.5bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF.

FGSI on its own →QYLD on its own →

At a glance

8.3%

FGSI cash paid, 1 year

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

+9.0%

FGSI total return, 1 year

+16.5%

QYLD 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.

QYLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD

+16.5%

QQQ

+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QYLD costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.5 points; QYLD is far larger, $8.5bn against $2.1m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FGSI vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FGSI	QYLD
Paid and earned
Measure	FGSI	QYLD
Total return, 1 year	+9.0%	+16.5%
Price change, 1 year	rose 0.2%	rose 3.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FGSI	QYLD
Benchmark	First Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGS	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	FGSI	QYLD
Expense ratio	0.85%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$2.1m	$8.5bn
Holdings
Measure	FGSI	QYLD
Holdings in common	14%

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

IQ Income Score63.2FGSI72.8QYLD

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

QYLD 72.8

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

14%

By the books each fund has filed, FGSI and QYLD hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

14% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FGSI QYLD

Broadcom Inc. 2.02% 3.11%

NVIDIA Corporation 1.93% 8.20%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.73% 2.78%

Netflix, Inc. 1.79% 1.41%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 1.88% 1.32%

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 1.90% 0.90%

Marvell Technology, Inc. 1.51% 0.77%

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 2.06% 0.58%

Applovin Corp. (Class A) 1.83% 0.56%

Fortinet, Inc. 1.51% 0.55%

Monster Beverage Corporation 2.06% 0.44%

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. 2.02% 0.44%

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%

General Dynamics Corporation 2.16%

S&P Global Inc. 2.16%

Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2.15%

Only in QYLD

APPLE INC. 7.65%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82%

AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.93%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4.32%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62%

ALPHABET INC. 3.50%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28%

TESLA, INC. 2.62%

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.3% 12.2%

Expense ratio 0.85% 0.60%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.3% 12.3%

Price change, 1 year +0.2% +3.3%

Total return, 1 year +9.0% +16.5%

Benchmark return, 1 year +8.8% +12.3%

Ahead or behind +0.2 pts +4.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 53% 99%

Age 1.4 years 12.9 years

Net assets, FGSI as of Nov 3, 2026 and QYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $2.0m $8.5bn

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 QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FGSI	QYLD	FGSI	QYLD	FGSI	QYLD
3 months	−2.2%	+2.4%	2.0%	3.0%	+0.6 pts	+5.9 pts
6 months	+6.3%	+5.4%	4.3%	6.0%	+0.2 pts	+5.8 pts
1 year	+9.0%	+16.5%	8.3%	12.3%	+0.2 pts	+4.2 pts
3 years	–	+52.7%	–	37.9%	–	−38.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FGSI Jun 2025 · QYLD Dec 2013	+13.6%	+194.8%	11.3%	117.5%	−0.7 pts	−610.5 pts

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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.

QYLD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FGSI or QYLD?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.3%, 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 +9.0% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
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

FGSI vs QQQI FGSI vs JEPQ FGSI vs QRMI FGSI vs GPIQ QYLD vs TPAY QYLD vs ODTE QYLD vs KIQQ QYLD vs XVSP

Where to next

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →FGSI on its own →QYLD on its own →FGSI dividend history →FGSI holdings →QYLD dividend history →QYLD 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 ↗

QYLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QYLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for QYLD ↗

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 QYLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fgsi-vs-qyld

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