Data as of .
FTHI vs TCAL: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year TCAL paid 11.4% 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 TCAL hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FTHI | TCAL |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 2.53% | 1.53% |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 1.27% | 1.48% |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 1.26% | 1.14% |
| Linde Plc | 1.11% | 1.63% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 1.31% | 1.01% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 2.01% | 0.95% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1.11% | 0.86% |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 2.67% | 0.66% |
| Walmart Inc. | 0.65% | 0.77% |
| US Foods Holding Corp. | 0.39% | 1.20% |
| Merck & Co., Inc. | 0.40% | 0.39% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 0.38% | 0.95% |
| Only in FTHI | Only in TCAL |
|---|---|
| Apple Inc. 7.75% | DANAHER CORP 2.01% |
| NVIDIA Corporation 6.90% | WATERS CORP 1.97% |
| US Dollar 5.90% | VERALTO CORP 1.87% |
| Microsoft Corporation 2.94% | WASTE CONNECTIONS INC 1.80% |
| Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C) 2.52% | MCDONALD S CORP 1.70% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 2.41% | VISA INC-CLASS A SHARES 1.69% |
| Bank of America Corporation 2.22% | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 1.60% |
| ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.17% | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 1.56% |
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
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTHI | TCAL | FTHI | TCAL | FTHI | TCAL | |
| 3 months | +1.7% | +4.2% | 2.2% | 3.5% | −0.6 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +9.8% | +5.3% | 4.6% | 6.3% | −8.2 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 1 year | +9.7% | +3.0% | 8.9% | 11.4% | −6.9 pts | −13.5 pts |
| 3 years | +47.9% | not published | 28.9% | not published | −30.5 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +156.3% | +3.9% | 82.6% | 15.2% | −257.8 pts | −32.7 pts |
| FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | TCAL T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | T. Rowe Price |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 9.0% | 9.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.9% | 11.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +0.3% | −8.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +9.7% | +3.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −6.9 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 4637 days | 540 days |
| Net assets | $2.5bn | $276m |
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.
TCAL in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, TCAL paid 11.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.4%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FTHI or TCAL?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and TCAL paid 11.4%, so TCAL 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 TCAL?
- With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +9.7% and TCAL returned +3.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so FTHI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FTHI or TCAL?
- FTHI charges 0.75% a year and TCAL charges 0.34%, so TCAL 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 TCAL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-tcal Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.