Which is cheaper, FTQI or NLSI?

FTQI charges 0.75% a year and NLSI charges 2.89%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTQI vs NLSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

FTQI and NLSI both write options for income.

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Net assets: $997m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF, and $5.3m on Oct 28, 2026 for NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF.

FTQI on its own →NLSI on its own →

At a glance

12.1%

FTQI cash paid, 1 year

5.0%

NLSI cash paid, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

+16.5%

FTQI total return, 1 year

+17.7%

NLSI total return, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

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.

NLSI · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI

+17.7%

SPY

+12.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5.0% as cash

5 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

5.0% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +17.7%. NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +17.7%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FTQI costs 2.14 points a year less; FTQI is far larger, $1.0bn against $5.3m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs NLSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTQI	NLSI
Paid and earned
Measure	FTQI	NLSI
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	not published
Price change	rose 3.5% (1 year)	rose 12.0% (since Dec 10, 2025)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTQI	NLSI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Against its benchmark, same days	ahead by 4.2 pts	ahead by 5.0 pts
Cost and size
Measure	FTQI	NLSI
Expense ratio	0.75%	2.89%
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026	$1.0bn	$5.3m
Holdings
Measure	FTQI	NLSI
Holdings in common	5%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and NLSI hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

5% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI NLSI

Micron Technology, Inc. 2.01% 12.00%

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 1.59% 4.06%

CoStar Group, Inc. 0.23% 3.44%

Valero Energy Corporation 0.19% 5.14%

Marathon Petroleum Corporation 0.18% 5.94%

Phillips 66 0.17% 4.39%

Chevron Corporation 0.14% 4.51%

Applied Materials, Inc. 1.00% -1.44%

Caterpillar Inc. 0.66% -1.44%

Weyerhaeuser Company 0.12% -1.45%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.72% -1.47%

Equinix, Inc. 0.69% -1.60%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTQI

Apple Inc. 8.98%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.22%

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73%

Tesla, Inc. 3.05%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.60%

Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.72%

Broadcom Inc. 1.64%

Microsoft Corporation 1.55%

Only in NLSI

Intuit Inc 4.45%

Walt Disney Co 4.42%

Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.30%

PayPal Holdings Inc 4.29%

American International Group Inc 4.28%

KKR & Co Inc 4.25%

Diamondback Energy Inc 4.22%

T-Mobile US Inc 4.14%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly NLSI NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust NEOS

Strategy covered call option income

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 5.6%

Expense ratio 0.75% 2.89%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 5.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025)

Price change, 1 year +3.5% +12.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025)

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +17.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025)

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +12.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025)

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts +5.0 pts (since launch, Dec 10, 2025)

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 100%

Age 12.8 years 329 days

Net assets, FTQI as of Nov 3, 2026 and NLSI as of Oct 28, 2026 $997m $5.3m

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 NLSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTQI	NLSI	FTQI	NLSI	FTQI	NLSI
3 months	+0.4%	+6.7%	3.0%	1.4%	+3.8 pts	+6.9 pts
6 months	+6.6%	+21.4%	6.0%	3.0%	+6.9 pts	+16.4 pts
1 year	+16.5%	–	12.1%	–	+4.3 pts	–
3 years	+60.8%	–	38.1%	–	−30.5 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTQI Jan 2014 · NLSI Dec 2025	+138.8%	+17.7%	81.1%	5.0%	−641.3 pts	+4.9 pts

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Alert

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.

NLSI

Over the period from its first trade on Dec 10, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026, NLSI paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 12.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.7% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.0 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.6%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, FTQI or NLSI?: FTQI charges 0.75% a year and NLSI charges 2.89%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTQI vs TPRY FTQI vs JANH FTQI vs JULJ FTQI vs JANJ NLSI vs GPIQ NLSI vs QYLD NLSI vs QQQI NLSI vs QLDY

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →FTQI on its own →NLSI on its own →FTQI dividend history →FTQI holdings →NLSI dividend history →NLSI holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FTQI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTQI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FTQI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FTQI ↗

NLSI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NLSI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

NLSI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

NEOS page for NLSI ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

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

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