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Data as of .

FTHI vs SCEP: which paid, and which earned it?

FTHI and SCEP both write options for income.

First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF and STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF.

8.9%FTHI cash paid, 1 year
5.0%SCEP cash paid, 1 year
+9.7%FTHI total return, 1 year
+3.5%SCEP total return, 1 year
FTHI6.9 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%FTHI+9.7%8.9% of it arrived as cash6.9 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%FTHI+9.7%8.9% cash6.9 pts behind SPY
SCEP8.2 pts behind SPY · since launch to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+11.7%SCEP+3.5%5.0% as cash8.2 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+11.7%SCEP+3.5%8.2 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and SCEP hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions FTHI and SCEP both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingFTHISCEP
Apple Inc.7.75%5.71%
Amazon.com, Inc.2.53%4.68%
Broadcom Inc.2.01%5.61%
Johnson & Johnson1.11%1.54%
Amgen Inc.1.37%1.10%
AbbVie Inc.1.04%1.62%
Walmart Inc.0.65%1.05%
Equinix, Inc.0.51%2.05%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.0.42%2.19%
Vistra Corp.0.40%0.94%
Netflix, Inc.0.38%1.01%
WEC Energy Group, Inc.0.09%1.45%
Only in each
Only in FTHIOnly in SCEP
NVIDIA Corporation 6.90%ALPHABET INC 5.98%
US Dollar 5.90%NVIDIA CORP 5.70%
Microsoft Corporation 2.94%JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.55%
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 2.67%MICROSOFT CORP 3.49%
Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C) 2.52%LAM RESEARCH CORP 2.64%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 2.41%PARKER-HANNIFIN CORP 2.63%
Bank of America Corporation 2.22%COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 2.40%
ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.17%META PLATFORMS INC 2.23%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

FTHI and SCEP over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
FTHISCEPFTHISCEPFTHISCEP
3 months+1.7%−0.1%2.2%1.7%−0.6 pts−2.4 pts
6 months+9.8%+8.3%4.6%3.7%−8.2 pts−9.7 pts
1 year+9.7%not published8.9%not published−6.9 ptsnot published
3 years+47.9%not published28.9%not published−30.5 ptsnot published
Since launch+156.3%+3.5%82.6%5.0%−257.8 pts−8.2 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
FTHI and SCEP on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTHI
First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF
Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
SCEP
STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF
Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
IssuerFirst TrustSterling Capital
Strategycovered callcovered call
BenchmarkS&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxyS&P 500 (SPY)
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized9.0%7.1%
Expense ratio0.75%0.65%
Cash paid, 1 year8.9%5.0% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025)
Price change, 1 year+0.3%−1.6%
Total return, 1 year+9.7%+3.5% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025)
Benchmark return, 1 year+16.6%+11.7%
Ahead or behind−6.9 pts−8.2 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot publishednot published
Age4637 days281 days
Net assets$2.5bn$235m

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.

SCEP in plain words

Over the period since launch on Dec 11, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, SCEP paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +11.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 8.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.1%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, FTHI or SCEP?
FTHI charges 0.75% a year and SCEP charges 0.65%, so SCEP 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.

FTHI against SCEP, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTHI against SCEP, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-scep Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources