Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

FGSI vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% 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 $12.7bn on Oct 28, 2026 for NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF.

At a glance
8.3%
FGSI cash paid, 1 year
12.1%
SPYI cash paid, 1 year
+9.0%
FGSI total return, 1 year
+14.0%
SPYI 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.
SPYI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.8 pts behind SPY
SPYI
+14.0%
SPY
+14.8%

0.8 pts behind SPY

SPYI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +1.1%, total +14.0%, SPY +14.8%, −0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

SPYI

+14.0%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts behind SPY

SPYI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +1.1%, total +14.0%, SPY +14.8%, −0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

SPYI

+14.0%

12.1% as cash

0.8 pts behind SPY

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +14.8%. SPYI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +1.1%, total +14.0%, SPY +14.8%, −0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +14.8%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SPYI costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.0 points; SPYI is far larger, $12.7bn against $2.0m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FGSI vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFGSISPYI
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+9.0%+14.0%
Price change, 1 yearrose 0.2%rose 1.1%
Return of capital, issuer estimate53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment99% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkFirst Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGSS&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.85%0.68%
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026$2.0m$12.7bn
Holdings
Holdings in common14%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · SPYI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score63.2FGSI68.6SPYI

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

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

Risk and return

Jul 3, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 69 weekly returns
FGSI SPYI
Return
Total return edge SPYI +8.4% +21.2%
Annualized edge SPYI +6.3% +15.6%
Price return edge SPYI −3.0% +3.3%
Risk
Volatility edge SPYI 11.4% 9.2%
Max drawdown edge SPYI −8.1% −6.9%
Downside capture 91.8% 80.5%
Beta 0.91 0.78
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge SPYI 0.25 1.20
Sortino edge SPYI 0.39 1.99
Treynor 0.031 0.121
Calmar edge SPYI 0.78 2.27
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.1% a year −0.6% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.12 −0.52
Information ratio −0.10 −0.86
Tracking error 1.6% 4.0%

Each against its own benchmark: FGSI against FTGS, Jul 3, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026; SPYI against SPY, Sep 9, 2022 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Jul 2025 to Oct 2026, SPYI returned more: +21.2% to +8.4%. SPYI swung less: 9.2% to 11.4%. SPYI fell less at its worst: −6.9% to −8.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: FGSI vs SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFGSISPYIEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+8.4%+21.2%SPYIPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+6.3%+15.6%SPYITotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−3.0%+3.3%SPYIPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility11.4%9.2%SPYISpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation7.4%5.6%SPYILike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−8.1%−6.9%SPYIDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture86.8%68.0%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture91.8%80.5%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.910.78Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.990.96Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.251.20SPYIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.391.99SPYIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0310.121Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.782.27SPYIAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkFTGSSPYThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.1% a year−0.6% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.12−0.52Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−1.9% to +2.1%−2.8% to +1.6%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.10−0.86Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error1.6%4.0%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 69 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

14%

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

0 half 100%

half

14% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FGSI SPYI
Broadcom Inc. 2.02% 2.41%
NVIDIA Corporation 1.93% 7.67%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.73% 2.07%
Eli Lilly and Company 2.25% 1.72%
Mastercard Incorporated 2.10% 0.79%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 1.88% 0.61%
Netflix, Inc. 1.79% 0.41%
Amphenol Corporation 2.11% 0.31%
Salesforce, Inc. 1.84% 0.31%
Arista Networks, Inc. 1.91% 0.27%
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 2.06% 0.23%
Marvell Technology, Inc. 1.51% 0.23%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FGSI
United Therapeutics Corporation 2.25%
Five Below, Inc. 2.12%
2026-11-06 S&P 500® Mini Index C 758 -0.12%
Only in SPYI
Apple Inc 7.40%
Microsoft Corp 5.90%
Amazon.com Inc 3.76%
Alphabet Inc 2.49%
Alphabet Inc 2.02%
Tesla Inc 1.72%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.55%
Micron Technology Inc 1.46%
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 SPYI NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly
Strategy option income option income
Benchmark First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 8.3% 11.5%
Expense ratio 0.85% 0.68%
Cash paid, 1 year 8.3% 12.1%
Price change, 1 year +0.2% +1.1%
Total return, 1 year +9.0% +14.0%
Benchmark return, 1 year +8.8% +14.8%
Ahead or behind +0.2 pts −0.8 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 53% 99%
Age 1.4 years 4.2 years
Net assets, FGSI as of Nov 3, 2026 and SPYI as of Oct 28, 2026 $2.0m $12.7bn

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 SPYI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowFGSISPYIFGSISPYIFGSISPYI
3 months−2.2%+1.1%2.0%2.9%+0.6 pts+1.3 pts
6 months+6.3%+5.8%4.3%6.0%+0.2 pts+0.7 pts
1 year+9.0%+14.0%8.3%12.1%+0.2 pts−0.8 pts
3 years–+62.0%–39.3%–−20.9 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FGSI Jun 2025 · SPYI Aug 2022+13.6%+78.5%11.3%51.3%−0.7 pts−25.2 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.

SPYI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.0%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.5%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FGSI or SPYI?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so SPYI 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 SPYI?
With every distribution reinvested, FGSI returned +9.0% and SPYI +14.0% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FGSI or SPYI?
FGSI charges 0.85% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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

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