Data as of .
QQQI vs XISE: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQI paid 15.2% of its price in cash against XISE’s 6.5%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQI 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, QQQI and XISE hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QQQI | Only in XISE |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp 8.58% | 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 0.08 98.96% |
| Apple Inc 7.79% | 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.61 5.02% |
| Microsoft Corp 5.84% | US Dollar 1.19% |
| Micron Technology Inc 5.03% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 01/28/2027 0.55% |
| Amazon.com Inc 4.36% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 02/25/2027 0.55% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.02% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 0.55% |
| Alphabet Inc 3.24% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/01/2026 0.55% |
| Meta Platforms Inc 3.14% | 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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQI | XISE | QQQI | XISE | QQQI | XISE | |
| 3 months | −0.7% | +1.2% | 3.4% | 2.0% | +1.8 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 6 months | +16.7% | +4.9% | 7.7% | 3.6% | −7.5 pts | −13.2 pts |
| 1 year | +16.4% | +6.1% | 15.2% | 6.5% | −5.3 pts | −10.5 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +20.9% | not published | 19.1% | not published | −57.5 pts |
| Since launch | +59.6% | +21.1% | 39.9% | 19.2% | −12.3 pts | −57.0 pts |
| QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | XISE FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | NEOS | First Trust |
| Strategy | option income | buffer with income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 14.0% | 6.0% |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.85% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 15.2% | 6.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −0.1% | −0.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.4% | +6.1% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −5.3 pts | −10.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 98% | not published |
| Age | 962 days | 1096 days |
| Net assets | $14.8bn | $32m |
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.0%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
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, QQQI or XISE?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting price in cash and XISE paid 6.5%, so QQQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQI or XISE?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQI returned +16.4% and XISE returned +6.1% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQI or XISE?
- QQQI charges 0.68% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so QQQI 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, QQQI against XISE, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqi-vs-xise Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.