Which paid more, FTHI or QXQ?

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and QXQ paid 15.1%, so QXQ 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 QXQ?

With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +6.4% and QXQ +12.1% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTHI or QXQ?

FTHI charges 0.75% a year and QXQ charges 0.98%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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FTHI vs QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+5.7 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: QXQ ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.23 pts

A year: FTHI 0.75%, QXQ 0.98%, per filings dated Jan 5, 2026 and Apr 30, 2026

Overlap

–

No book read for both funds

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Pair scorecard

FTHI costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTHI vs QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTHI	QXQ
Paid and earned
Measure	FTHI	QXQ
Total return, 1 year	+6.4%	+12.1%
Price change, 1 year	fell 2.7%	fell 4.7%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	92% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTHI	QXQ
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	FTHI	QXQ
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.98%
Net assets, FTHI as of Nov 11, 2026 and QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026	$2.6bn	$82m
Holdings
Measure	FTHI	QXQ
Holdings in common	not published

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

IQ Income Score48.8FTHI52QXQ

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 171 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

FTHI 48.8

QXQ 52

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

Key numbers

8.9%

FTHI cash paid, 1 year

15.1%

QXQ cash paid, 1 year

+6.4%

FTHI total return, 1 year

+12.1%

QXQ total return, 1 year

FTHI · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 5.6 pts behind SPY

FTHI

+6.4%

SPY

+12.0%

5.6 pts behind SPY

FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −2.7%, total +6.4%, SPY +12.0%, −5.6 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

SPY

+12.0%

FTHI

+6.4%

8.9% of it arrived as cash

5.6 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5.6 pts behind SPY

FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −2.7%, total +6.4%, SPY +12.0%, −5.6 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

SPY

+12.0%

FTHI

+6.4%

8.9% cash

5.6 pts behind SPY

8.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. FTHI over 1 year: paid 8.9%, price −2.7%, total +6.4%, SPY +12.0%, −5.6 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QXQ · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ

+12.1%

QQQ

+11.3%

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

15.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Side by side

FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly QXQ SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying quarterly

Issuer First Trust SGI

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly quarterly

Payout rate, annualized 9.1% 1.0%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.98%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.9% 15.1%

Price change, 1 year −2.7% −4.7%

Total return, 1 year +6.4% +12.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.0% +11.3%

Ahead or behind −5.6 pts +0.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 92% not published

Age 12.8 years 2.4 years

Net assets, FTHI as of Nov 11, 2026 and QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 $2.6bn $82m

As of Nov 12, 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 QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTHI	QXQ	FTHI	QXQ	FTHI	QXQ
3 months	−2.4%	−5.4%	2.2%	0.2%	+0.1 pts	+0.5 pts
6 months	+0.8%	−3.8%	4.4%	0.5%	−0.9 pts	+0.4 pts
1 year	+6.4%	+12.1%	8.9%	15.1%	−5.6 pts	+0.8 pts
3 years	+46.2%	–	29.6%	–	−32.1 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTHI Jan 2014 · QXQ Jun 2024	+152.8%	+47.7%	84.3%	22.8%	−258.2 pts	+2.2 pts

– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →

Alert

About each fund

FTHI

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 2.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.4%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.6 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, 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.

QXQ

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 1.0%, paid quarterly.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTHI or QXQ?: Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and QXQ paid 15.1%, so QXQ 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 QXQ?: With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +6.4% and QXQ +12.1% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTHI or QXQ?: FTHI charges 0.75% a year and QXQ charges 0.98%, so FTHI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTHI vs QRMI FTHI vs QYLD FTHI vs QQQI FTHI vs JEPQ QXQ vs XYLD QXQ vs GPIX QXQ vs SPYI QXQ vs JEPI

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →FTHI on its own →QXQ on its own →FTHI dividend history →FTHI holdings →QXQ 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 ↗

QXQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QXQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SGI website ↗

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.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FTHI against QXQ, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-qxq

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.

Net assets: $2.6bn on Nov 11, 2026 for First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF, and $82m on Aug 31, 2026 for SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF.

FTHI on its own →QXQ on its own →

Growth of 100

FTHI and QXQ

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

FTHI +6.4%QXQ +12.1%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

FTHI +6.4%, QXQ +12.1%: QXQ +5.7 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.