Which paid more, FTQI or QUSA?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, so QUSA 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 QUSA?

With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTQI or QUSA?

FTQI charges 0.75% a year and QUSA charges 0.97%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTQI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its price in cash against FTQI’s 12.1%, though FTQI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $997m for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF and $20m for VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF.

FTQI on its own →QUSA on its own →

At a glance

12.1%

FTQI cash paid, 1 year

14.6%

QUSA cash paid, 1 year

+16.5%

FTQI total return, 1 year

+1.9%

QUSA 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.

QUSA · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA

+1.9%

SPY

+14.8%

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

12.9 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

12.9 pts behind SPY

QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

QUSA

+1.9%

12.9 pts behind SPY

14.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QUSA over 1 year: paid 14.6%, price −12.3%, total +1.9%, SPY +14.8%, −12.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

FTQI costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.6 points; FTQI is far larger, $997m against $20m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTQI	QUSA
Paid and earned
Measure	FTQI	QUSA
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+1.9%
Price change, 1 year	rose 3.5%	fell 12.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 27, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTQI	QUSA
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	FTQI	QUSA
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.97%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$997m	$20m
Holdings
Measure	FTQI	QUSA
Holdings in common	36%

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

IQ Income Score74FTQI21.9QUSA

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

FTQI 74

QUSA 21.9

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

36%

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and QUSA hold 36% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

36% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI QUSA

Apple Inc. 8.98% 7.27%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.22% 6.15%

Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.10% 2.96%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.67% 3.71%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.60% 2.39%

Micron Technology, Inc. 2.01% 3.17%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.72% 4.97%

Broadcom Inc. 1.64% 3.32%

Microsoft Corporation 1.55% 6.27%

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 1.59% 1.21%

KLA Corporation 1.16% 2.62%

Netflix, Inc. 1.14% 3.80%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTQI

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73%

Amazon.com, Inc. 4.23%

Tesla, Inc. 3.05%

Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.72%

Costco Wholesale Corporation 1.54%

AbbVie Inc. 1.48%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 1.43%

Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1.41%

Only in QUSA

Visa Inc 5.70%

Mastercard Inc 4.37%

Adobe Inc 4.17%

Newmont Corp 2.87%

Fortinet Inc 2.85%

Airbnb Inc 2.56%

AppLovin Corp 2.48%

QUALCOMM Inc 2.14%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust VistaShares

Strategy covered call covered call

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 15.4%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.97%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 14.6%

Price change, 1 year +3.5% −12.3%

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +1.9%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +14.8%

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts −12.9 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 100%

Age 12.8 years 1.5 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $997m $20m

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 QUSA: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTQI	QUSA	FTQI	QUSA	FTQI	QUSA
3 months	+0.4%	−8.5%	3.0%	3.6%	+3.8 pts	−8.4 pts
6 months	+6.6%	−5.5%	6.0%	7.3%	+6.9 pts	−10.5 pts
1 year	+16.5%	+1.9%	12.1%	14.6%	+4.3 pts	−12.8 pts
3 years	+60.8%	–	38.1%	–	−30.5 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: FTQI Jan 2014 · QUSA May 2025	+138.8%	−1.8%	81.1%	17.3%	−641.3 pts	−41.3 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.

QUSA

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QUSA paid 14.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 12.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +1.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 12.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.4%, paid monthly. VistaShares estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 27, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTQI or QUSA?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and QUSA paid 14.6%, so QUSA 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 QUSA?: With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and QUSA +1.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTQI or QUSA?: FTQI charges 0.75% a year and QUSA charges 0.97%, so FTQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTQI vs SPUT FTQI vs OCTH FTQI vs OCTJ FTQI vs JANJ QUSA vs QDTE QUSA vs ROCQ QUSA vs XQQI QUSA vs IQQQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →FTQI on its own →QUSA on its own →FTQI dividend history →FTQI holdings →QUSA dividend history →QUSA 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 ↗

QUSA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUSA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QUSA 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

VistaShares page for QUSA ↗

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 QUSA, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ftqi-vs-qusa

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