Data as of .
PAPI vs TCAL: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year TCAL paid 11.4% of its price in cash against PAPI’s 7.9%, though PAPI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: PAPI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
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
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, PAPI and TCAL hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | PAPI | TCAL |
|---|---|---|
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 0.77% | 1.14% |
| Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 0.60% | 0.75% |
| Cardinal Health, Inc. | 0.59% | 0.91% |
| Keurig Dr Pepper, Inc. | 0.58% | 1.13% |
| Coca-Cola Co. (The) | 0.56% | 0.90% |
| Danaher Corp. | 0.56% | 2.01% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 0.56% | 0.86% |
| Home Depot, Inc. (The) | 0.55% | 0.63% |
| Linde plc | 0.54% | 1.63% |
| Southern Co. (The) | 0.54% | 0.72% |
| Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 0.53% | 1.00% |
| WEC Energy Group, Inc. | 0.52% | 0.69% |
| Only in PAPI | Only in TCAL |
|---|---|
| Corning, Inc. 1.01% | WATERS CORP 1.97% |
| TD SYNNEX Corp. 0.81% | VERALTO CORP 1.87% |
| Power Integrations, Inc. 0.73% | WASTE CONNECTIONS INC 1.80% |
| Royalty Pharma plc 0.73% | YUM BRANDS INC 1.72% |
| Millicom International Cellular SA 0.72% | MCDONALD S CORP 1.70% |
| Avnet, Inc. 0.71% | VISA INC-CLASS A SHARES 1.69% |
| Texas Instruments, Inc. 0.71% | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 1.60% |
| Cummins, Inc. 0.70% | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 1.56% |
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 Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAPI | TCAL | PAPI | TCAL | PAPI | TCAL | |
| 3 months | +4.7% | +4.2% | 2.0% | 3.5% | +2.5 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +5.6% | +5.3% | 4.0% | 6.3% | −12.4 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 1 year | +12.8% | +3.0% | 7.9% | 11.4% | −3.8 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Since launch | +35.6% | +3.9% | 22.5% | 15.2% | −49.6 pts | −32.7 pts |
| PAPI Parametric Equity Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | TCAL T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Parametric | T. Rowe Price |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 7.2% | 9.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.29% | 0.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 7.9% | 11.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +4.5% | −8.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +12.8% | +3.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −3.8 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 1065 days | 540 days |
| Net assets | $400m | $276m |
PAPI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, PAPI paid 7.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.8 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.2%, paid monthly.
TCAL in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, TCAL paid 11.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.4%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, PAPI or TCAL?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, PAPI paid 7.9% of its starting price in cash and TCAL paid 11.4%, so TCAL paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, PAPI or TCAL?
- With every distribution reinvested, PAPI returned +12.8% and TCAL returned +3.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so PAPI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, PAPI or TCAL?
- PAPI charges 0.29% a year and TCAL charges 0.34%, so PAPI 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, PAPI against TCAL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/papi-vs-tcal Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.