Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

LJAN vs XISE: which paid, and which earned it?

Over the year XISE paid 6.5% of its price in cash against LJAN’s 4.9%, and returned more with it reinvested.

Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - January and FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September.

4.9%LJAN cash paid, 1 year
6.5%XISE cash paid, 1 year
+5.1%LJAN total return, 1 year
+6.1%XISE total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Return Stability Score: LJAN scores higher

Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?

LJAN 40.8XISE 40.23.8, the lowest in this set96.8, the highest

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

LJAN11.4 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%LJAN+5.1%4.9% as cash11.4 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%LJAN+5.1%11.4 pts behind SPY
XISE10.5 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%XISE+6.1%6.5% of it arrived as cash10.5 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%XISE+6.1%10.5 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, LJAN and XISE hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Only in each
Only in LJANOnly in XISE
TREASURY BILL 97.22%2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 0.08 98.96%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.61 5.02%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%US Dollar 1.19%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 01/28/2027 0.55%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 02/25/2027 0.55%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 0.55%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/01/2026 0.55%
TREASURY BILL 0.40%U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/31/2026 0.55%

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 Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

LJAN and XISE over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
LJANXISELJANXISELJANXISE
3 months+1.3%+1.2%1.2%2.0%−1.0 pts−1.1 pts
6 months+4.8%+4.9%2.5%3.6%−13.2 pts−13.2 pts
1 year+5.1%+6.1%4.9%6.5%−11.4 pts−10.5 pts
3 yearsnot published+20.9%not published19.1%not published−57.5 pts
Since launch+16.1%+21.1%13.9%19.2%−50.4 pts−57.0 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
LJAN and XISE on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
LJAN
Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - January
Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly
XISE
FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September
Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly
IssuerInnovatorFirst Trust
Strategybuffer with incomebuffer with income
BenchmarkS&P 500 (SPY)S&P 500 (SPY)
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized4.8%6.0%
Expense ratio0.79%0.85%
Cash paid, 1 year4.9%6.5%
Price change, 1 year+0.1%−0.6%
Total return, 1 year+5.1%+6.1%
Benchmark return, 1 year+16.6%+16.6%
Ahead or behind−11.4 pts−10.5 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot publishednot published
Age990 days1096 days
Net assets$12m$32m

LJAN in plain words

Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.4 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.8%, paid monthly.

XISE in plain words

Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, XISE paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.0%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, LJAN or XISE?
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% of its starting price in cash and XISE paid 6.5%, so XISE paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, LJAN or XISE?
With every distribution reinvested, LJAN returned +5.1% and XISE returned +6.1% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so XISE returned more.
Which is cheaper, LJAN or XISE?
LJAN charges 0.79% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so LJAN 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.

LJAN against XISE, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, LJAN against XISE, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ljan-vs-xise Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources