Which paid more, FTHI or XYLG?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?

With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTHI or XYLG?

FTHI charges 0.75% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTHI vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its price in cash against FTHI’s 8.9%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $2.5bn on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF, and $72m on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF.

FTHI on its own →XYLG on its own →

At a glance

8.9%

FTHI cash paid, 1 year

12.7%

XYLG cash paid, 1 year

+8.1%

FTHI total return, 1 year

+15.6%

XYLG 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.

XYLG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG

+15.6%

SPY

+14.8%

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

12.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XYLG costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.5 points; FTHI is far larger, $2.6bn against $72m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTHI vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTHI	XYLG
Paid and earned
Measure	FTHI	XYLG
Total return, 1 year	+8.1%	+15.6%
Price change, 1 year	fell 1.2%	rose 1.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	92% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	80% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTHI	XYLG
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	FTHI	XYLG
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$2.6bn	$72m
Holdings
Measure	FTHI	XYLG
Holdings in common	49%

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

IQ Income Score52.4FTHI70.4XYLG

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

XYLG 70.4

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

49%

By the books each fund has filed, FTHI and XYLG hold 49% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

49% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTHI XYLG

Apple Inc. 7.86% 7.09%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.59% 7.60%

Microsoft Corporation 3.18% 5.39%

Amazon.com, Inc. 2.57% 4.15%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.99% 3.26%

Broadcom Inc. 1.92% 2.88%

JPMorgan Chase & Co. 2.65% 1.47%

Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.44% 2.63%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 1.25% 1.91%

Eli Lilly and Company 1.19% 1.41%

Tesla, Inc. 1.09% 1.36%

ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. 1.22% 1.00%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTHI

ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.06%

Coca-Cola European Partners Plc 1.15%

Jackson Financial Inc. (Class A) 0.80%

Novartis AG (ADR) 0.71%

Royalty Pharma Plc (Class A) 0.64%

HF Sinclair Corp. 0.62%

InterDigital, Inc. 0.58%

IDACORP, Inc. 0.57%

Only in XYLG

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 1.46%

VISA INC. 0.94%

MASTERCARD INCORPORATED 0.72%

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED 0.59%

LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 0.57%

THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY 0.53%

THE HOME DEPOT, INC. 0.52%

PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC. 0.42%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly XYLG Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Global X

Strategy covered call covered call

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 9.0% 4.4%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.35%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.9% 12.7%

Price change, 1 year −1.2% +1.5%

Total return, 1 year +8.1% +15.6%

Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +14.8%

Ahead or behind −6.7 pts +0.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 92% 80%

Age 12.8 years 6.1 years

Net assets, FTHI as of Nov 3, 2026 and XYLG as of Oct 12, 2026 $2.5bn $72m

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 XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTHI	XYLG	FTHI	XYLG	FTHI	XYLG
3 months	−0.5%	+1.4%	2.2%	1.1%	−0.3 pts	+1.5 pts
6 months	+2.5%	+6.7%	4.4%	2.5%	−2.5 pts	+1.7 pts
1 year	+8.1%	+15.6%	8.9%	12.7%	−6.7 pts	+0.8 pts
3 years	+48.1%	+65.6%	29.7%	44.3%	−34.8 pts	−17.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FTHI Jan 2014 · XYLG Sep 2020	+155.0%	+116.0%	84.3%	69.8%	−262.6 pts	−38.4 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.

XYLG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.4%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 80% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTHI or XYLG?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?: With every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +8.1% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTHI or XYLG?: FTHI charges 0.75% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTHI vs XYLD FTHI vs WDTE FTHI vs XRMI FTHI vs ACSP XYLG vs GPIX XYLG vs JEPI XYLG vs OCTJ XYLG vs JANJ

Where to next

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

XYLG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XYLG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

XYLG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for XYLG ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FTHI against XYLG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/fthi-vs-xylg

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