Data as of .
FTHI vs OARK: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year OARK paid 37.4% of its price in cash against FTHI’s 8.9%, though FTHI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: FTHI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and OARK hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in FTHI | Only in OARK |
|---|---|
| Apple Inc. 7.75% | United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 31.97% |
| NVIDIA Corporation 6.90% | United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 31.91% |
| US Dollar 5.90% | United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 22.43% |
| Microsoft Corporation 2.94% | 2ARKK US 11/20/26 C85.01 FLX 8.43% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. 2.67% | United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 6.55% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 2.53% | United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 3.23% |
| Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C) 2.52% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 1.09% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 2.41% | ARKK US 09/25/26 C86 0.66% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTHI | OARK | FTHI | OARK | FTHI | OARK | |
| 3 months | +1.7% | +3.9% | 2.2% | 9.0% | −0.6 pts | +6.4 pts |
| 6 months | +9.8% | +20.0% | 4.6% | 22.6% | −8.2 pts | −4.2 pts |
| 1 year | +9.7% | +6.6% | 8.9% | 37.4% | −6.9 pts | −15.2 pts |
| 3 years | +47.9% | +61.9% | 28.9% | 87.5% | −30.5 pts | −36.3 pts |
| Since launch | +156.3% | +58.8% | 82.6% | 89.4% | −257.8 pts | −96.7 pts |
| FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | OARK YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | YieldMax |
| Strategy | covered call | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 9.0% | 27.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 1.00% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.9% | 37.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +0.3% | −34.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +9.7% | +6.6% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −6.9 pts | −15.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 0% |
| Age | 4637 days | 1395 days |
| Net assets | $2.5bn | $32m |
FTHI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.7%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.9 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.0%, paid monthly.
OARK in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 34.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 15.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 27.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FTHI or OARK?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and OARK paid 37.4%, so OARK 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 OARK?
- With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +9.7% and OARK returned +6.6% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so FTHI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FTHI or OARK?
- FTHI charges 0.75% a year and OARK charges 1.00%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTHI against OARK, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-oark Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.