Data as of .
QLDY vs SDVD: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QLDY paid 29.2% of its price in cash against SDVD’s 9.2% and the two finished level on total return.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SDVD 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, QLDY and SDVD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QLDY | Only in SDVD |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 94.80% | National HealthCare Corporation 1.12% |
| First American Government Obligations Fu 4.77% | First BanCorp. 1.04% |
| United States Treasury Note/bond 2.375% 0.53% | OFG Bancorp 1.03% |
| Ndxp Us 09/21/26 P29500 0.08% | The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. 1.01% |
| Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05% | Interparfums, Inc. 1.00% |
| Cash & Other -0.06% | Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporat 1.00% |
| Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 09/26 29650 -0.16% | VeriSign, Inc. 1.00% |
| Assurant, Inc. 0.99% |
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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QLDY | SDVD | QLDY | SDVD | QLDY | SDVD | |
| 3 months | −6.6% | −0.1% | 8.3% | 2.1% | −4.1 pts | −6.7 pts |
| 6 months | +20.1% | +8.3% | 18.7% | 4.4% | −4.2 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 1 year | +10.6% | +10.8% | 29.2% | 9.2% | −11.2 pts | −16.4 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +53.0% | not published | 30.7% | not published | −0.7 pts |
| Since launch | +10.6% | +47.6% | 29.2% | 29.7% | −11.2 pts | −4.1 pts |
| QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread(TM) Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | SDVD FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF Dividend stocks with call overlay on SCHD, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | First Trust |
| Strategy | option income | dividend stocks with call overlay |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 19.6% | 8.8% |
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 0.85% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 29.2% | 9.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | −20.3% | +1.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +10.6% | +10.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +27.2% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.2 pts | −16.4 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 100% | not published |
| Age | 365 days | 1135 days |
| Net assets | $52m | $888m |
QLDY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 20.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.6%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
SDVD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SDVD paid 9.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.8%. US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy returned +27.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 16.4 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.8%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QLDY or SDVD?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting price in cash and SDVD paid 9.2%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QLDY or SDVD?
- With every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +10.6% and SDVD returned +10.8% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so SDVD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QLDY or SDVD?
- QLDY charges 1.04% a year and SDVD charges 0.85%, so SDVD 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, QLDY against SDVD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-sdvd Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.