Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

FTQI vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its price in cash against IQQQ’s 6.8%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $997m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF, and $380m on Nov 4, 2026 for ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF.

At a glance
12.1%
FTQI cash paid, 1 year
6.8%
IQQQ cash paid, 1 year
+16.5%
FTQI total return, 1 year
+7.4%
IQQQ total return, 1 year
FTQI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ
FTQI
+16.5%
QQQ
+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

FTQI

+16.5%

12.1% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. FTQI over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price +3.5%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
IQQQ · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.9 pts behind QQQ
IQQQ
+7.4%
QQQ
+12.3%

4.9 pts behind QQQ

IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

IQQQ

+7.4%

6.8% of it arrived as cash

4.9 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.9 pts behind QQQ

IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

IQQQ

+7.4%

4.9 pts behind QQQ

6.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

IQQQ costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.1 points; FTQI is 2.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFTQIIQQQ
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+16.5%+7.4%
Price change, 1 yearrose 3.5%rose 0.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment93% of the Nov 6, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkNasdaq-100, measured through QQQNasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.75%0.55%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026$997m$376m
Holdings
Holdings in common46%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · FTQI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score74FTQI64.4IQQQ

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

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

Risk and return

Mar 28, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 135 weekly returns · each against QQQ
FTQI IQQQ
Return
Total return edge Tie +43.1% +42.9%
Annualized edge Tie +14.8% +14.8%
Price return edge IQQQ +5.3% +12.0%
Risk
Volatility edge FTQI 12.3% 18.0%
Max drawdown edge FTQI (slight) −18.1% −19.4%
Downside capture 62.7% 96.9%
Beta 0.55 0.88
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge FTQI 0.83 0.62
Sortino edge FTQI 1.20 0.89
Treynor 0.186 0.127
Calmar edge FTQI (slight) 0.82 0.76
Against the benchmark
Alpha +1.8% a year −2.3% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.56 −1.03
Information ratio −0.48 −0.96
Tracking error 10.4% 4.3%
Reading

From Mar 2024 to Oct 2026, FTQI and IQQQ returned about the same: +43.1% and +42.9%. FTQI swung less: 12.3% to 18.0%. FTQI fell slightly less at its worst: −18.1% to −19.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: FTQI vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureFTQIIQQQQQQEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+43.1%+42.9%TiePrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+14.8%+14.8%TieTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+5.3%+12.0%IQQQPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility12.3%18.0%FTQISpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation8.5%12.5%FTQILike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−18.1%−19.4%FTQI (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture43.4%84.6%100.0%IQQQShare of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture62.7%96.9%100.0%FTQIShare of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.550.881.00FTQI lowerHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.820.961.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.830.62FTQIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.200.89FTQIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1860.1270.153FTQIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.820.76FTQI (slight)Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkQQQQQQQQQThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+1.8% a year−2.3% a year0.0%Not significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.56−1.03Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−4.6% to +8.3%−6.7% to +2.1%Both include zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.48−0.96FTQIReturn against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error10.4%4.3%0.0%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 135 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

46%

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and IQQQ hold 46% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

46% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI IQQQ
Apple Inc. 8.98% 6.32%
NVIDIA Corporation 6.22% 7.26%
Amazon.com, Inc. 4.23% 3.80%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73% 2.88%
Tesla, Inc. 3.05% 2.50%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.67% 2.30%
Micron Technology, Inc. 2.01% 4.06%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.72% 2.69%
Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.72% 2.49%
Broadcom Inc. 1.64% 2.39%
Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.10% 1.63%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.60% 1.61%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FTQI
AbbVie Inc. 1.48%
CME Group Inc. 1.10%
eBay Inc. 0.94%
Medpace Holdings, Inc. 0.86%
Expedia Group, Inc. 0.84%
Woodward, Inc. 0.81%
Illumina, Inc. 0.79%
DocuSign, Inc. 0.70%
Only in IQQQ
Walmart, Inc. 1.92%
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. 1.03%
Texas Instruments, Inc. 0.89%
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. 0.88%
Sandisk Corp. 0.87%
Linde plc 0.85%
T-Mobile US, Inc. 0.73%
PepsiCo, Inc. 0.72%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly IQQQ ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying monthly
Strategy covered call option income
Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 6.1%
Expense ratio 0.75% 0.55%
Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 6.8%
Price change, 1 year +3.5% +0.5%
Total return, 1 year +16.5% +7.4%
Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +12.3%
Ahead or behind +4.2 pts −4.9 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 93%
Age 12.8 years 2.6 years
Net assets, FTQI as of Nov 3, 2026 and IQQQ as of Nov 4, 2026 $997m $380m

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: FTQI vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowFTQIIQQQFTQIIQQQFTQIIQQQ
3 months+0.4%−4.4%3.0%1.5%+3.8 pts−0.9 pts
6 months+6.6%−2.6%6.0%3.4%+6.9 pts−2.3 pts
1 year+16.5%+7.4%12.1%6.8%+4.3 pts−4.9 pts
3 years+60.8%–38.1%–−30.5 pts–
Since launchNot the same days: FTQI Jan 2014 · IQQQ Mar 2024+138.8%+44.2%81.1%25.6%−641.3 pts−13.8 pts

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About each fund
FTQI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 99% 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.

IQQQ

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 4.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.1%, paid monthly. ProShares estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Nov 6, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTQI or IQQQ?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and IQQQ paid 6.8%, so FTQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, FTQI or IQQQ?
With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and IQQQ +7.4% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTQI or IQQQ?
FTQI charges 0.75% a year and IQQQ charges 0.55%, so IQQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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, FTQI against IQQQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ftqi-vs-iqqq

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