Which paid more, FTHI or QUSA?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, so QUSA 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 QUSA?

With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTHI or QUSA?

FTHI charges 0.75% a year and QUSA charges 0.97%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTHI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its price in cash against FTHI’s 8.9%, though FTHI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.5bn for First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF and $20m for VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF.

FTHI on its own →QUSA on its own →

At a glance

8.9%

FTHI cash paid, 1 year

14.6%

QUSA cash paid, 1 year

+8.1%

FTHI total return, 1 year

+1.9%

QUSA 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.

QUSA · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA

+1.9%

SPY

+14.8%

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

14.6% cash

12.9 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

12.9 pts behind SPY

14.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FTHI costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.2 points; FTHI is far larger, $2.5bn against $20m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTHI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTHI	QUSA
Paid and earned
Measure	FTHI	QUSA
Total return, 1 year	+8.1%	+1.9%
Price change, 1 year	fell 1.2%	fell 12.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	92% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 27, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTHI	QUSA
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	FTHI	QUSA
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.97%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.5bn	$20m
Holdings
Measure	FTHI	QUSA
Holdings in common	27%

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

IQ Income Score52.4FTHI21.9QUSA

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

QUSA 21.9

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

27%

By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and QUSA hold 27% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

27% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTHI QUSA

Apple Inc. 7.86% 7.27%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.59% 6.15%

Microsoft Corporation 3.18% 6.27%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.99% 4.97%

Broadcom Inc. 1.92% 3.32%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.25% 3.71%

Cisco Systems, Inc. 1.22% 2.96%

Fortinet, Inc. 0.97% 2.85%

Micron Technology, Inc. 0.95% 3.17%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 0.75% 2.39%

GE Aerospace 0.48% 2.89%

Netflix, Inc. 0.35% 3.80%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTHI

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%

Bank of America Corporation 1.97%

Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C) 1.86%

Amgen Inc. 1.68%

Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1.45%

Only in QUSA

Visa Inc 5.70%

Lam Research Corp 4.91%

Mastercard Inc 4.37%

Adobe Inc 4.17%

Newmont Corp 2.87%

Airbnb Inc 2.56%

QUALCOMM Inc 2.14%

Tapestry Inc 2.12%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust VistaShares

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 9.0% 15.4%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.97%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.9% 14.6%

Price change, 1 year −1.2% −12.3%

Total return, 1 year +8.1% +1.9%

Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +14.8%

Ahead or behind −6.7 pts −12.9 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 92% 100%

Age 12.8 years 1.5 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.5bn $20m

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 QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTHI	QUSA	FTHI	QUSA	FTHI	QUSA
3 months	−0.5%	−8.5%	2.2%	3.6%	−0.3 pts	−8.4 pts
6 months	+2.5%	−5.5%	4.4%	7.3%	−2.5 pts	−10.5 pts
1 year	+8.1%	+1.9%	8.9%	14.6%	−6.7 pts	−12.8 pts
3 years	+48.1%	–	29.7%	–	−34.8 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTHI Jan 2014 · QUSA May 2025	+155.0%	−1.8%	84.3%	17.3%	−262.6 pts	−41.3 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.

QUSA

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 12.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +1.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 12.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.4%, paid monthly. VistaShares estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 27, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTHI or QUSA?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, so QUSA 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 QUSA?: With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTHI or QUSA?: FTHI charges 0.75% a year and QUSA charges 0.97%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTHI vs SCLZ FTHI vs JULH FTHI vs SPUT FTHI vs OCTH QUSA vs XYLD QUSA vs ISPY QUSA vs GPIX QUSA vs ROCY

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →FTHI on its own →QUSA on its own →FTHI dividend history →FTHI holdings →QUSA dividend history →QUSA holdings →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 ↗

QUSA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUSA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QUSA 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

VistaShares page for QUSA ↗

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

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