Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

FTHI vs FTQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its price in cash against FTHI’s 8.9%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.5bn for First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF and $997m for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF.

At a glance
8.9%
FTHI cash paid, 1 year
12.1%
FTQI cash paid, 1 year
+8.1%
FTHI total return, 1 year
+16.5%
FTQI total return, 1 year
FTHI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 6.7 pts behind SPY
FTHI
+8.1%
SPY
+14.8%

6.7 pts behind SPY

FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −1.2%, total +8.1%, SPY +14.8%, −6.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

FTHI

+8.1%

8.9% of it arrived as cash

6.7 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

6.7 pts behind SPY

FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −1.2%, total +8.1%, SPY +14.8%, −6.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

FTHI

+8.1%

6.7 pts behind SPY

8.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −1.2%, total +8.1%, SPY +14.8%, −6.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
FTQI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ
FTQI
+16.5%
QQQ
+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.75% a year; their one-year returns differ by 8.4 points; FTHI is 2.5 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTHI vs FTQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFTHIFTQI
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+8.1%+16.5%
Price change, 1 yearfell 1.2%rose 3.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate92% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkS&P 500, measured through SPYNasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.75%0.75%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026$2.5bn$997m
Holdings
Holdings in common40%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · FTQI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score52.4FTHI74FTQI

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

Jan 17, 2014 to Oct 30, 2026 · 667 weekly returns
FTHI FTQI
Return
Total return edge FTHI +155.1% +139.5%
Annualized edge FTHI (slight) +7.6% +7.0%
Price return edge FTHI +16.6% +8.0%
Risk
Volatility edge FTQI (slight) 13.1% 11.8%
Max drawdown edge FTQI −30.0% −18.5%
Downside capture 75.9% 58.3%
Beta 0.71 0.45
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge Tie 0.47 0.47
Sortino edge FTQI (slight) 0.64 0.66
Treynor 0.088 0.123
Calmar edge FTQI 0.25 0.38
Against the benchmark
Alpha −2.3% a year −2.0% a year
Alpha t-stat −1.27 −0.90
Information ratio −0.73 −0.84
Tracking error 8.0% 13.4%

Each against its own benchmark: FTHI against SPY, Jan 17, 2014 to Oct 30, 2026; FTQI against QQQ, Jan 17, 2014 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Jan 2014 to Oct 2026, FTHI returned more: +155.1% to +139.5%. FTQI swung slightly less: 11.8% to 13.1%. FTQI fell less at its worst: −18.5% to −30.0%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: FTHI vs FTQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFTHIFTQIEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+155.1%+139.5%FTHIPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+7.6%+7.0%FTHI (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+16.6%+8.0%FTHIPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility13.1%11.8%FTQI (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation9.7%8.4%FTQILike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−30.0%−18.5%FTQIDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture54.9%31.2%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture75.9%58.3%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.710.45Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.760.55Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.470.47TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.640.66FTQI (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0880.123Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.250.38FTQIAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSPYQQQThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−2.3% a year−2.0% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−1.27−0.90Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−5.9% to +1.3%−6.4% to +2.4%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.73−0.84Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error8.0%13.4%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 667 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

40%

By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and FTQI hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

40% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTHI FTQI
Apple Inc. 7.86% 8.98%
NVIDIA Corporation 6.59% 6.22%
Amazon.com, Inc. 2.57% 4.23%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.99% 1.72%
Broadcom Inc. 1.92% 1.64%
Microsoft Corporation 3.18% 1.55%
Costco Wholesale Corporation 2.04% 1.54%
Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.44% 1.72%
Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1.45% 1.41%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.25% 2.67%
Cisco Systems, Inc. 1.22% 3.10%
AbbVie Inc. 1.16% 1.48%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FTHI
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 2.65%
ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.06%
Bank of America Corporation 1.97%
Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C) 1.86%
Linde Plc 1.27%
Eli Lilly and Company 1.19%
Coca-Cola European Partners Plc 1.15%
TransDigm Group Incorporated 1.03%
Only in FTQI
Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 1.59%
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 1.43%
Lam Research Corporation 0.99%
eBay Inc. 0.94%
Medpace Holdings, Inc. 0.86%
Expedia Group, Inc. 0.84%
Woodward, Inc. 0.81%
Illumina, Inc. 0.79%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly
Strategy covered call covered call
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 9.0% 12.3%
Expense ratio 0.75% 0.75%
Cash paid, 1 year 8.9% 12.1%
Price change, 1 year −1.2% +3.5%
Total return, 1 year +8.1% +16.5%
Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +12.3%
Ahead or behind −6.7 pts +4.2 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 92% 99%
Age 12.8 years 12.8 years
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.5bn $997m

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: FTHI vs FTQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowFTHIFTQIFTHIFTQIFTHIFTQI
3 months−0.5%+0.4%2.2%3.0%−0.3 pts+3.8 pts
6 months+2.5%+6.6%4.4%6.0%−2.5 pts+6.9 pts
1 year+8.1%+16.5%8.9%12.1%−6.7 pts+4.3 pts
3 years+48.1%+60.8%29.7%38.1%−34.8 pts−30.5 pts
Since launchFTHI Jan 2014 · FTQI Jan 2014+155.0%+138.8%84.3%81.1%−262.6 pts−641.3 pts

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About each fund
FTHI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +8.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.7 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.0%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 92% 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.

FTQI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.5%. 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 12.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTHI or FTQI?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and FTQI paid 12.1%, so FTQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, FTHI or FTQI?
With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and FTQI +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTHI or FTQI?
FTHI and FTQI both charge 0.75% a year, so neither 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, FTHI against FTQI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-ftqi

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