Which paid more, FTQI or XYLG?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?

With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, FTQI or XYLG?

FTQI charges 0.75% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

FTQI vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its price in cash against FTQI’s 12.1%, though FTQI returned more with it reinvested.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about FTQI and XYLG

Net assets: $997m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF, and $72m on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF.

FTQI on its own →XYLG on its own →

At a glance

12.1%

FTQI cash paid, 1 year

12.7%

XYLG cash paid, 1 year

+16.5%

FTQI total return, 1 year

+15.6%

XYLG 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.

XYLG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG

+15.6%

SPY

+14.8%

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

12.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

XYLG costs 0.40 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.9 points; FTQI is 13.9 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

FTQI vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	FTQI	XYLG
Paid and earned
Measure	FTQI	XYLG
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+15.6%
Price change, 1 year	rose 3.5%	rose 1.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	99% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	80% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTQI	XYLG
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	FTQI	XYLG
Expense ratio	0.75%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$1.0bn	$72m
Holdings
Measure	FTQI	XYLG
Holdings in common	42%

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

IQ Income Score74FTQI70.4XYLG

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

XYLG 70.4

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

42%

By the books each fund has filed, FTQI and XYLG hold 42% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

42% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTQI XYLG

Apple Inc. 8.98% 7.09%

NVIDIA Corporation 6.22% 7.60%

Amazon.com, Inc. 4.23% 4.15%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.67% 1.91%

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) 1.72% 3.26%

Alphabet Inc. (Class C) 1.72% 2.63%

Broadcom Inc. 1.64% 2.88%

Microsoft Corporation 1.55% 5.39%

Micron Technology, Inc. 2.01% 1.45%

Tesla, Inc. 3.05% 1.36%

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 4.73% 1.21%

Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.10% 0.71%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTQI

Medpace Holdings, Inc. 0.86%

Woodward, Inc. 0.81%

Illumina, Inc. 0.79%

DocuSign, Inc. 0.70%

Texas Roadhouse, Inc. 0.66%

Guardant Health, Inc. 0.65%

InterDigital, Inc. 0.53%

Qualys, Inc. 0.49%

Only in XYLG

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 1.47%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 1.46%

ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 1.41%

VISA INC. 0.94%

WALMART INC. 0.76%

MASTERCARD INCORPORATED 0.72%

BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION 0.63%

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED 0.59%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTQI First Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly XYLG Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Global X

Strategy covered call covered call

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 12.3% 4.4%

Expense ratio 0.75% 0.35%

Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 12.7%

Price change, 1 year +3.5% +1.5%

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +15.6%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +14.8%

Ahead or behind +4.2 pts +0.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 99% 80%

Age 12.8 years 6.1 years

Net assets, FTQI as of Nov 3, 2026 and XYLG as of Oct 12, 2026 $997m $72m

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 XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	FTQI	XYLG	FTQI	XYLG	FTQI	XYLG
3 months	+0.4%	+1.4%	3.0%	1.1%	+3.8 pts	+1.5 pts
6 months	+6.6%	+6.7%	6.0%	2.5%	+6.9 pts	+1.7 pts
1 year	+16.5%	+15.6%	12.1%	12.7%	+4.3 pts	+0.8 pts
3 years	+60.8%	+65.6%	38.1%	44.3%	−30.5 pts	−17.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: FTQI Jan 2014 · XYLG Sep 2020	+138.8%	+116.0%	81.1%	69.8%	−641.3 pts	−38.4 pts

Open this comparison in the app →

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.

XYLG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.4%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 80% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, FTQI or XYLG?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTQI paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG 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 XYLG?: With every distribution reinvested, FTQI returned +16.5% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, FTQI or XYLG?: FTQI charges 0.75% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTQI vs XSPI FTQI vs DRKY FTQI vs QUSA FTQI vs SCLZ XYLG vs GPIQ XYLG vs QYLD XYLG vs QQQI XYLG vs QLDY

Where to next

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

XYLG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XYLG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

XYLG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for XYLG ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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