Which is cheaper, KNG or SCEP?

KNG charges 0.74% 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

KNG vs SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return

KNG and SCEP both write options for income.

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Net assets: $3.4bn on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF, and $235m on Jun 30, 2026 for STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF.

KNG on its own →SCEP on its own →

At a glance

8.8%

KNG cash paid, 1 year

6.1%

SCEP cash paid, since launch, Dec 11, 2025

+20.8%

KNG total return, 1 year

+5.3%

SCEP total return, since launch, Dec 11, 2025

KNG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG

+20.8%

NOBL

+23.9%

3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

NOBL

+23.9%

KNG

+20.8%

8.8% of it arrived as cash

3.1 pts behind NOBL

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.1 pts behind NOBL

KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

NOBL

+23.9%

KNG

+20.8%

3.1 pts behind NOBL

8.8% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. KNG over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +11.1%, total +20.8%, NOBL +23.9%, −3.1 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% 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 0.09 points a year less.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

KNG vs SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	KNG	SCEP
Paid and earned
Measure	KNG	SCEP
Total return, 1 year	+20.8%	not published
Price change	rose 11.1% (1 year)	fell 1.1% (6 months)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	80% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	100% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	KNG	SCEP
Benchmark	S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, measured through NOBL	its own stocks
Cost and size
Measure	KNG	SCEP
Expense ratio	0.74%	0.65%
Net assets, KNG as of Nov 3, 2026 and SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026	$3.4bn	$235m
Holdings
Measure	KNG	SCEP
Holdings in common	13%

Method

What they share

13%

By the books each fund has filed, KNG and SCEP hold 13% 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

13% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first KNG SCEP

Aflac Incorporated 1.48% 1.68%

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. 1.48% 1.84%

Illinois Tool Works Inc. 1.48% 2.04%

Johnson & Johnson 1.48% 1.51%

AbbVie Inc. 1.44% 1.60%

The Sherwin-Williams Company 1.45% 1.24%

Walmart Inc. 1.52% 1.03%

The Procter & Gamble Company 1.48% 1.01%

McDonald's Corporation 1.53% 0.85%

W.W. Grainger, Inc. 1.48% 0.82%

Emerson Electric Co. 1.46% 0.72%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in KNG

Pentair plc 1.89%

Roper Technologies, Inc. 1.70%

Erie Indemnity Company 1.58%

The Clorox Company 1.58%

PPG Industries, Inc. 1.57%

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. 1.57%

Abbott Laboratories 1.56%

General Dynamics Corporation 1.55%

Only in SCEP

ALPHABET INC 5.88%

APPLE INC 5.61%

NVIDIA CORP 5.61%

BROADCOM INC 5.51%

AMAZON.COM INC 4.60%

JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.50%

MICROSOFT CORP 3.43%

LAM RESEARCH CORP 2.60%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

KNG FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF · Dividend stocks with call overlay on NOBL, paying monthly SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF · Covered call on its own stocks, paying monthly

Issuer First Trust Sterling Capital

Strategy dividend stocks with call overlay covered call

Benchmark S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) 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 8.0% 7.0%

Expense ratio 0.74% 0.65%

Cash paid, 1 year 8.8% 6.1% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Price change, 1 year +11.1% −1.0% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Total return, 1 year +20.8% +5.3% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025)

Benchmark return, 1 year +23.9% not published

Ahead or behind −3.1 pts not available

Return of capital, latest estimate 80% 100%

Age 8.6 years 328 days

Net assets, KNG as of Nov 3, 2026 and SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026 $3.4bn $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: KNG vs SCEP: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	KNG	SCEP	KNG	SCEP	KNG	SCEP
3 months	+5.2%	−1.2%	2.0%	1.7%	−0.5 pts	+0.8 pts
6 months	+13.5%	+2.4%	4.3%	3.5%	−1.4 pts	+0.4 pts
1 year	+20.8%	–	8.8%	–	−3.1 pts	–
3 years	+41.8%	–	26.9%	–	−6.7 pts	–
Since launchNot the same days: KNG Mar 2018 · SCEP Dec 2025	+120.8%	+5.3%	61.2%	6.1%	−19.0 pts	not measured

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Alert

About each fund

KNG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, KNG paid 8.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 11.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +20.8%. S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) returned +23.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.0%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 80% 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, KNG or SCEP?: KNG charges 0.74% a year and SCEP charges 0.65%, so SCEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

KNG vs RNTY KNG vs TCAL KNG vs GRNI KNG vs CVRD SCEP vs RDVI SCEP vs XPAY SCEP vs YLDE SCEP vs OVLH

Where to next

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →KNG on its own →SCEP on its own →KNG dividend history →KNG holdings →SCEP dividend history →SCEP holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

KNG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

KNG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

KNG 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for KNG ↗

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

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