Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

MDST vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XLEI paid 22.3% of its price in cash against MDST’s 10.8%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $287m on Jul 31, 2026 for Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF, and $209m on Nov 3, 2026 for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF.

At a glance
10.8%
MDST cash paid, 1 year
22.3%
XLEI cash paid, 1 year
+22.6%
MDST total return, 1 year
+39.2%
XLEI total return, 1 year
MDST · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 9.1 pts behind ENFR
MDST
+22.6%
ENFR
+31.7%

9.1 pts behind ENFR

MDST over 1 year: paid 10.8%, price +11.5%, total +22.6%, ENFR +31.7%, −9.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

ENFR

+31.7%

MDST

+22.6%

10.8% as cash

9.1 pts behind ENFR

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.1 pts behind ENFR

MDST over 1 year: paid 10.8%, price +11.5%, total +22.6%, ENFR +31.7%, −9.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

ENFR

+31.7%

MDST

+22.6%

9.1 pts behind ENFR

10.8% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. MDST over 1 year: paid 10.8%, price +11.5%, total +22.6%, ENFR +31.7%, −9.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
XLEI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 10.6 pts behind XLE
XLEI
+39.2%
XLE
+49.8%

10.6 pts behind XLE

XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XLE

+49.8%

XLEI

+39.2%

22.3% of it arrived as cash

10.6 pts behind XLE

Total return, distributions reinvested

10.6 pts behind XLE

XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XLE

+49.8%

XLEI

+39.2%

10.6 pts behind XLE

22.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +49.8%. XLEI over 1 year: paid 22.3%, price +13.8%, total +39.2%, XLE +49.8%, −10.6 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +49.8%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XLEI costs 0.45 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.6 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

MDST vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureMDSTXLEI
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+22.6%+39.2%
Price change, 1 yearrose 11.5%rose 13.8%
Return of capital, issuer estimate100% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment100% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkAlerian Energy Infrastructure ETF, measured through ENFREnergy sector, measured through XLE
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.80%0.35%
Net assets, MDST as of Jul 31, 2026 and XLEI as of Nov 3, 2026$287m$209m
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · MDST scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score87.7MDST82.3XLEI

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

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

Risk and return

Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 64 weekly returns
MDST XLEI
Return
Total return edge XLEI +24.7% +55.9%
Annualized edge XLEI +19.7% +43.4%
Price return edge XLEI +10.5% +22.3%
Risk
Volatility edge MDST 13.7% 15.6%
Max drawdown edge MDST −5.0% −7.9%
Downside capture 82.4% 78.9%
Beta 0.75 0.67
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XLEI 1.10 2.15
Sortino edge XLEI 1.69 3.42
Treynor 0.181 0.501
Calmar edge XLEI 3.90 5.47
Against the benchmark
Alpha −1.8% a year +5.1% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.56 1.28
Information ratio −1.02 −1.04
Tracking error 6.9% 8.6%

Each against its own benchmark: MDST against ENFR, Apr 19, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026; XLEI against XLE, Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Aug 2025 to Oct 2026, XLEI returned more: +55.9% to +24.7%. MDST swung less: 13.7% to 15.6%. MDST fell less at its worst: −5.0% to −7.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: MDST vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureMDSTXLEIEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+24.7%+55.9%XLEIPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+19.7%+43.4%XLEITotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+10.5%+22.3%XLEIPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility13.7%15.6%MDSTSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation8.9%9.8%MDST (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−5.0%−7.9%MDSTDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture62.7%57.9%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture82.4%78.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.750.67Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.870.92Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe1.102.15XLEIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.693.42XLEIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1810.501Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar3.905.47XLEIAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkENFRXLEThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−1.8% a year+5.1% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.561.28Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−8.4% to +4.7%−2.9% to +13.2%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−1.02−1.04Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error6.9%8.6%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 64 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, MDST and XLEI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first MDST XLEI
Only in one fund ↓
Only in MDST
ENERGY TRANSFER LP 9.17%
ENBRIDGE INC 8.76%
WILLIAMS COMPANIES INC (THE) 8.18%
ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS PARTNERS LP 6.85%
DT MIDSTREAM INC 6.08%
KINDER MORGAN INC 5.60%
CHENIERE ENERGY INC 4.90%
TC ENERGY CORP 4.82%
Only in XLEI
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC 100.78%
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 70.5 CALL -0.02%
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 72.5 CALL -0.02%
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 69 CALL -0.04%
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 71 CALL -0.07%
STATE STREET ENERGY SELECT SEC NOV26 70 CALL -0.76%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

MDST Westwood Salient Enhanced Midstream Income ETF · Option income on ENFR, paying monthly XLEI State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF · Covered call on XLE, paying monthly
Strategy option income covered call
Benchmark Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR) Energy sector (XLE)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 9.7% 22.0%
Expense ratio 0.80% 0.35%
Cash paid, 1 year 10.8% 22.3%
Price change, 1 year +11.5% +13.8%
Total return, 1 year +22.6% +39.2%
Benchmark return, 1 year +31.7% +49.8%
Ahead or behind −9.1 pts −10.6 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 100%
Age 2.6 years 1.3 years
Net assets, MDST as of Jul 31, 2026 and XLEI as of Nov 3, 2026 $287m $209m

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: MDST vs XLEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowMDSTXLEIMDSTXLEIMDSTXLEI
3 months−0.5%+9.7%2.4%5.3%+0.7 pts−1.8 pts
6 months+1.9%+14.8%4.7%10.5%+0.6 pts+1.9 pts
1 year+22.6%+39.2%10.8%22.3%−9.1 pts−10.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: MDST Apr 2024 · XLEI Jul 2025+44.5%+41.9%27.9%27.2%−21.5 pts−8.4 pts

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About each fund
MDST

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MDST paid 10.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 11.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +22.6%. Alerian Energy Infrastructure ETF (ENFR) returned +31.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.7%, paid monthly. Westwood estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

XLEI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XLEI paid 22.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 13.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +39.2%. Energy sector (XLE) returned +49.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.6 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 22.0%, paid monthly. State Street estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, MDST or XLEI?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MDST paid 10.8% of its starting price in cash and XLEI paid 22.3%, so XLEI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, MDST or XLEI?
With every distribution reinvested, MDST returned +22.6% and XLEI +39.2% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, MDST or XLEI?
MDST charges 0.80% a year and XLEI charges 0.35%, so XLEI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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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.

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ETFIQ, MDST against XLEI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/mdst-vs-xlei

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