Which is cheaper, NLSI or SDVD?

NLSI charges 2.89% a year and SDVD charges 0.85%, so SDVD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

NLSI vs SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

NLSI and SDVD both write options for income.

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Net assets: $5.3m on Oct 28, 2026 for NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF, and $903m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF.

NLSI on its own →SDVD on its own →

At a glance

5.0%

NLSI cash paid, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

9.7%

SDVD cash paid, 1 year

+17.7%

NLSI total return, since launch, Dec 10, 2025

+18.9%

SDVD total return, 1 year

NLSI · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI

+17.7%

SPY

+12.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5.0% as cash

5 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

5.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SDVD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD

+18.9%

SDVY

+17.5%

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SDVY

+17.5%

SDVD

+18.9%

9.7% of it arrived as cash

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SDVY

+17.5%

SDVD

+18.9%

9.7% cash

1.4 pts ahead of SDVY

9.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +18.9%. SDVD over 1 year: paid 9.7%, price +8.6%, total +18.9%, SDVY +17.5%, +1.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +18.9%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SDVD costs 2.04 points a year less; SDVD is far larger, $885m against $5.3m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

NLSI vs SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	NLSI	SDVD
Paid and earned
Measure	NLSI	SDVD
Total return, 1 year	not published	+18.9%
Price change	rose 12.0% (since Dec 10, 2025)	rose 8.6% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment	22% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	NLSI	SDVD
Benchmark	S&P 500, measured through SPY	First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF, measured through SDVY
Against its benchmark, same days	ahead by 5.0 pts	ahead by 1.4 pts
Cost and size
Measure	NLSI	SDVD
Expense ratio	2.89%	0.85%
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026	$5.3m	$885m
Holdings
Measure	NLSI	SDVD
Holdings in common	1%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, NLSI and SDVD hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first NLSI SDVD

Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.30% 0.46%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co 3.90% 0.22%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in NLSI

Micron Technology Inc 12.00%

Marathon Petroleum Corp 5.94%

Valero Energy Corp 5.14%

Chevron Corp 4.51%

Intuit Inc 4.45%

Walt Disney Co 4.42%

Phillips 66 4.39%

PayPal Holdings Inc 4.29%

Only in SDVD

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. 1.09%

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated 1.06%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 1.06%

Veralto Corporation 1.05%

Assurant, Inc. 1.02%

Interparfums, Inc. 1.02%

National HealthCare Corporation 1.02%

VeriSign, Inc. 1.02%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

NLSI NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly SDVD FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF · Writes calls on the Russell 2000, investing in the Nasdaq US Small-Mid Cap Rising Dividend Achievers Index, paying monthly

Issuer NEOS First Trust

Strategy option income dividend stocks with call overlay

Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 5.6% 8.2%

Expense ratio 2.89% 0.85%

Cash paid, 1 year 5.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) 9.7%

Price change, 1 year +12.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +8.6%

Total return, 1 year +17.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +18.9%

Benchmark return, 1 year +12.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +17.5%

Ahead or behind +5.0 pts (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +1.4 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 22%

Age 329 days 3.2 years

Net assets, NLSI as of Oct 28, 2026 and SDVD as of Nov 3, 2026 $5.3m $903m

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: NLSI vs SDVD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	NLSI	SDVD	NLSI	SDVD	NLSI	SDVD
3 months	+6.7%	−2.3%	1.4%	2.0%	+6.9 pts	+0.5 pts
6 months	+21.4%	+3.3%	3.0%	4.1%	+16.4 pts	+0.9 pts
1 year	–	+18.9%	–	9.7%	–	+1.4 pts
3 years	–	+60.8%	–	31.3%	–	+1.0 pts
Since launchNot the same days: NLSI Dec 2025 · SDVD Aug 2023	+17.7%	+53.9%	5.0%	31.3%	+4.9 pts	+1.9 pts

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Alert

About each fund

NLSI

Over the period from its first trade on Dec 10, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026, NLSI paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 12.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.7% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.0 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.6%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% 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.

SDVD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SDVD paid 9.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.9%. First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.4 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.2%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 22% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, NLSI or SDVD?: NLSI charges 2.89% a year and SDVD charges 0.85%, so SDVD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

NLSI vs RDVI NLSI vs YQQQ NLSI vs XSHP NLSI vs XVSP SDVD vs TPRY SDVD vs SPUT SDVD vs SCLZ SDVD vs QUSA

Where to next

S&P 500 (SPY) →First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →NLSI on its own →SDVD on its own →NLSI dividend history →NLSI holdings →SDVD dividend history →SDVD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

NLSI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NLSI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

NLSI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

NEOS page for NLSI ↗

SDVD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SDVD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SDVD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for SDVD ↗

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, NLSI against SDVD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/nlsi-vs-sdvd

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