Which paid more, FGSI or SDVD?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and SDVD paid 9.7%, so SDVD 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 SDVD?

With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +9.0% and SDVD +18.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FGSI or SDVD?

FGSI and SDVD both charge 0.85% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FGSI vs SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SDVD paid 9.7% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.3%, and 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 $903m for FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF.

FGSI on its own →SDVD on its own →

At a glance

8.3%

FGSI cash paid, 1 year

9.7%

SDVD cash paid, 1 year

+9.0%

FGSI total return, 1 year

+18.9%

SDVD 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%

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.

SDVD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD

+18.9%

SDVY

+17.5%

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SDVY

+17.5%

SDVD

+18.9%

9.7% of it arrived as cash

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SDVY

+17.5%

SDVD

+18.9%

9.7% cash

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

9.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +18.9%. SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +18.9%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.85% a year; their one-year returns differ by 9.9 points; SDVD is far larger, $903m against $2.0m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FGSI vs SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FGSI	SDVD
Paid and earned
Measure	FGSI	SDVD
Total return, 1 year	+9.0%	+18.9%
Price change, 1 year	rose 0.2%	rose 8.6%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	22% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FGSI	SDVD
Benchmark	First Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGS	First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF, measured through SDVY
Cost and size
Measure	FGSI	SDVD
Expense ratio	0.85%	0.85%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.0m	$903m
Holdings
Measure	FGSI	SDVD
Holdings in common	4%

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

IQ Income Score63.2FGSI84.7SDVD

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

SDVD 84.7

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

By the books each fund has filed, FGSI and SDVD hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

4% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FGSI SDVD

Expedia Group, Inc. 1.96% 0.98%

Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2.15% 0.95%

Ralph Lauren Corporation 2.04% 0.93%

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (Class A) 1.87% 0.84%

Comfort Systems USA, Inc. 1.79% 0.46%

Tapestry, Inc. 2.01% 0.21%

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 SDVD

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. 1.09%

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated 1.06%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 1.06%

Veralto Corporation 1.05%

Assurant, Inc. 1.02%

Interparfums, Inc. 1.02%

National HealthCare Corporation 1.02%

VeriSign, Inc. 1.02%

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 SDVD FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF · Writes calls on the Russell 2000, investing in the Nasdaq US Small-Mid Cap Rising Dividend Achievers Index, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust First Trust

Strategy option income dividend stocks with call overlay

Benchmark First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.3% 8.2%

Expense ratio 0.85% 0.85%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.3% 9.7%

Price change, 1 year +0.2% +8.6%

Total return, 1 year +9.0% +18.9%

Benchmark return, 1 year +8.8% +17.5%

Ahead or behind +0.2 pts +1.4 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 53% 22%

Age 1.4 years 3.2 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.0m $903m

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 SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FGSI	SDVD	FGSI	SDVD	FGSI	SDVD
3 months	−2.2%	−2.3%	2.0%	2.0%	+0.6 pts	+0.5 pts
6 months	+6.3%	+3.3%	4.3%	4.1%	+0.2 pts	+0.9 pts
1 year	+9.0%	+18.9%	8.3%	9.7%	+0.2 pts	+1.4 pts
3 years	–	+60.8%	–	31.3%	–	+1.0 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FGSI Jun 2025 · SDVD Aug 2023	+13.6%	+53.9%	11.3%	31.3%	−0.7 pts	+1.9 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.

SDVD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SDVD paid 9.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.9%. First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.4 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.2%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 22% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FGSI or SDVD?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and SDVD paid 9.7%, so SDVD 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 SDVD?: With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +9.0% and SDVD +18.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FGSI or SDVD?: FGSI and SDVD both charge 0.85% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FGSI vs PAPI FGSI vs RDVI FGSI vs YLDE FGSI vs VAIE SDVD vs KYLD SDVD vs KNG SDVD vs RDVI SDVD vs QQDH

Where to next

First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) →First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY) →FGSI on its own →SDVD on its own →FGSI dividend history →FGSI holdings →SDVD dividend history →SDVD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FGSI and SDVD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FGSI and SDVD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FGSI and SDVD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FGSI ↗

First Trust page for SDVD ↗

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

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