Which is cheaper, FTQI or SCEP?

FTQI charges 0.75% a year and SCEP charges 0.65%, so SCEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTQI vs SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return

FTQI and SCEP both write options for income.

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Net assets: $997m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF, and $235m on Jun 30, 2026 for STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF.

FTQI on its own →SCEP on its own →

At a glance

12.1%

FTQI cash paid, 1 year

6.1%

SCEP cash paid, since launch, Dec 11, 2025

+16.5%

FTQI total return, 1 year

+5.3%

SCEP total return, since launch, Dec 11, 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.

SCEP · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 Not measured

SCEP

+5.3%

none

Not measured

SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SCEP

+5.3%

6.1% of it arrived as cash

Total return, distributions reinvested

Not measured

SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SCEP

+5.3%

6.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SCEP costs 0.10 points a year less.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTQI	SCEP
Paid and earned
Measure	FTQI	SCEP
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	not published
Price change	rose 3.5% (1 year)	fell 1.1% (6 months)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTQI	SCEP
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	its own stocks
Cost and size
Measure	FTQI	SCEP
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.65%
Net assets, FTQI as of Nov 3, 2026 and SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026	$997m	$235m
Holdings
Measure	FTQI	SCEP
Holdings in common	34%

Method

What they share

34%

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and SCEP hold 34% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

34% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI SCEP

Apple Inc. 8.98% 5.61%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.22% 5.61%

Amazon.com, Inc. 4.23% 4.60%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.67% 2.19%

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73% 2.16%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.72% 5.88%

Broadcom Inc. 1.64% 5.51%

Microsoft Corporation 1.55% 3.43%

Costco Wholesale Corporation 1.54% 2.36%

AbbVie Inc. 1.48% 1.60%

Amgen Inc. 1.08% 1.08%

Netflix, Inc. 1.14% 1.00%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTQI

Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.10%

Tesla, Inc. 3.05%

Micron Technology, Inc. 2.01%

Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.72%

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc 1.59%

Gilead Sciences, Inc. 1.41%

KLA Corporation 1.16%

CME Group Inc. 1.10%

Only in SCEP

JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.50%

WILLIAMS COMPANIES INC (THE) 2.11%

ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC 2.04%

VISA INC 1.94%

AMPHENOL CORP 1.90%

ANALOG DEVICES INC 1.84%

VERTIV HOLDINGS COMPANY 1.79%

AFLAC INC 1.68%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF · Covered call on its own stocks, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Sterling Capital

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) SCEP's own stocks, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Jun 30, 2026)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 7.0%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.65%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 6.1% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Price change, 1 year +3.5% −1.0% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +5.3% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% not published

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts not available

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 100%

Age 12.8 years 328 days

Net assets, FTQI as of Nov 3, 2026 and SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026 $997m $235m

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 SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTQI	SCEP	FTQI	SCEP	FTQI	SCEP
3 months	+0.4%	−1.2%	3.0%	1.7%	+3.8 pts	+0.8 pts
6 months	+6.6%	+2.4%	6.0%	3.5%	+6.9 pts	+0.4 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 · SCEP Dec 2025	+138.8%	+5.3%	81.1%	6.1%	−641.3 pts	not measured

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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.

SCEP

SCEP's own stocks, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Jun 30, 2026) returned +2.1% over the same days, so a holder was about even.

Over the 6 months to Nov 4, 2026, SCEP paid 3.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +2.4%. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.0%, paid monthly. Sterling Capital estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, FTQI or SCEP?: FTQI charges 0.75% a year and SCEP charges 0.65%, so SCEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTQI vs TCAL FTQI vs RNTY FTQI vs GRNI FTQI vs HEMI SCEP vs GPIQ SCEP vs QYLD SCEP vs QQQI SCEP vs JEPQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →FTQI on its own →SCEP on its own →FTQI dividend history →FTQI holdings →SCEP dividend history →SCEP 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 ↗

SCEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SCEP prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SCEP 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Sterling Capital website ↗

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

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