Which paid more, FTHI or LJUL?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and LJUL paid 5.2%, so FTHI 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 LJUL?

With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and LJUL +5.3% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTHI or LJUL?

FTHI charges 0.75% a year and LJUL charges 0.79%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTHI vs LJUL: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its price in cash against LJUL’s 5.2%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $2.5bn on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF, and $9.0m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July.

FTHI on its own →LJUL on its own →

At a glance

8.9%

FTHI cash paid, 1 year

5.2%

LJUL cash paid, 1 year

+8.1%

FTHI total return, 1 year

+5.3%

LJUL 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%

8.9% cash

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.

LJUL · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL

+5.3%

VOO

+14.8%

9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJUL

+5.3%

5.2% of it arrived as cash

9.5 pts behind VOO

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.5 pts behind VOO

LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJUL

+5.3%

9.5 pts behind VOO

5.2% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. LJUL over 1 year: paid 5.2%, price 0.0%, total +5.3%, VOO +14.8%, −9.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FTHI costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; FTHI is far larger, $2.5bn against $8.9m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTHI vs LJUL: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTHI	LJUL
Paid and earned
Measure	FTHI	LJUL
Total return, 1 year	+8.1%	+5.3%
Price change, 1 year	fell 1.2%	fell 0.0%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	92% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	40% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTHI	LJUL
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, measured through VOO
Cost and size
Measure	FTHI	LJUL
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.5bn	$8.9m
Holdings
Measure	FTHI	LJUL
Holdings in common	0%

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

IQ Income Score52.4FTHI57.8LJUL

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

FTHI 52.4

LJUL 57.8

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

By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and LJUL hold 0% 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

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTHI LJUL

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTHI

Apple Inc. 7.86%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.59%

Microsoft Corporation 3.18%

JPMorgan Chase & Co. 2.65%

Amazon.com, Inc. 2.57%

ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.06%

Costco Wholesale Corporation 2.04%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.99%

Only in LJUL

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly LJUL Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - July · Buffer with income on VOO, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Innovator

Strategy covered call buffer with income

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 9.0% 5.3%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.79%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.9% 5.2%

Price change, 1 year −1.2% 0.0%

Total return, 1 year +8.1% +5.3%

Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +14.8%

Ahead or behind −6.7 pts −9.5 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 92% 40%

Age 12.8 years 2.3 years

Net assets, FTHI as of Nov 3, 2026 and LJUL as of Nov 4, 2026 $2.5bn $9.0m

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 LJUL: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTHI	LJUL	FTHI	LJUL	FTHI	LJUL
3 months	−0.5%	+1.1%	2.2%	1.3%	−0.3 pts	+1.3 pts
6 months	+2.5%	+2.8%	4.4%	2.6%	−2.5 pts	−2.3 pts
1 year	+8.1%	+5.3%	8.9%	5.2%	−6.7 pts	−9.5 pts
3 years	+48.1%	–	29.7%	–	−34.8 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTHI Jan 2014 · LJUL Jul 2024	+155.0%	+14.0%	84.3%	12.6%	−262.6 pts	−30.5 pts

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Alert

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.

LJUL

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJUL paid 5.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.3%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.5 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.3%, paid monthly. Innovator estimates that 40% of the distribution paid Nov 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTHI or LJUL?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and LJUL paid 5.2%, so FTHI 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 LJUL?: With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and LJUL +5.3% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTHI or LJUL?: FTHI charges 0.75% a year and LJUL charges 0.79%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTHI vs OVLH FTHI vs XPAY FTHI vs TSPY FTHI vs OVL LJUL vs XYLD LJUL vs ISPY LJUL vs OMAH LJUL vs GPIX

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) →FTHI on its own →LJUL on its own →FTHI dividend history →FTHI holdings →LJUL dividend history →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FTHI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTHI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FTHI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FTHI ↗

LJUL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LJUL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

LJUL 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Innovator page for LJUL ↗

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 LJUL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-ljul

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