Data as of .
FTQI vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year SPYI paid 13.1% of its price in cash against FTQI’s 12.0%, though FTQI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: FTQI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and SPYI hold 44% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FTQI | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc. | 8.76% | 7.52% |
| NVIDIA Corporation | 6.55% | 8.28% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 4.13% | 3.82% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) | 2.75% | 2.22% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class A) | 2.06% | 3.12% |
| Alphabet Inc. (Class C) | 2.05% | 2.50% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 1.92% | 2.59% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. | 2.38% | 1.74% |
| Tesla, Inc. | 2.68% | 1.58% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 1.41% | 5.62% |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 5.41% | 1.41% |
| Intel Corporation | 1.14% | 0.82% |
| Only in FTQI | Only in SPYI |
|---|---|
| US Dollar 5.75% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.43% |
| Illumina, Inc. 0.76% | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 1.43% |
| Medpace Holdings, Inc. 0.76% | Eli Lilly & Co 1.42% |
| Woodward, Inc. 0.75% | Visa Inc 0.93% |
| Guardant Health, Inc. 0.64% | Walmart Inc 0.72% |
| DocuSign, Inc. 0.58% | Mastercard Inc 0.70% |
| Texas Roadhouse, Inc. 0.58% | Bank of America Corp 0.58% |
| InterDigital, Inc. 0.53% | Merck & Co Inc 0.56% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTQI | SPYI | FTQI | SPYI | FTQI | SPYI | |
| 3 months | +4.0% | +3.1% | 2.9% | 3.0% | +6.5 pts | +0.9 pts |
| 6 months | +18.3% | +14.4% | 6.3% | 6.5% | −5.9 pts | −3.6 pts |
| 1 year | +21.5% | +15.3% | 12.0% | 13.1% | −0.3 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 3 years | +62.9% | +57.2% | 37.0% | 38.6% | −35.3 pts | −21.2 pts |
| Since launch | +141.7% | +77.1% | 78.8% | 50.3% | −675.0 pts | −25.3 pts |
| FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High 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 | 11.9% | 12.1% |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 12.0% | 13.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +8.0% | +1.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.5% | +15.3% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.3 pts | −1.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 93% |
| Age | 4637 days | 1480 days |
| Net assets | $975m | $12.2bn |
FTQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FTQI paid 12.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 8.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.9%, paid monthly.
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SPYI paid 13.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, FTQI or SPYI?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FTQI paid 12.0% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 13.1%, so SPYI 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 SPYI?
- With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +21.5% and SPYI returned +15.3% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so FTQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, FTQI or SPYI?
- FTQI charges 0.75% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTQI against SPYI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ftqi-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.