Which is cheaper, SCEP or XISE?

SCEP charges 0.65% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so SCEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

SCEP vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return

SCEP and XISE both write options for income.

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Net assets: $235m on Jun 30, 2026 for STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF, and $33m on Nov 3, 2026 for FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September.

SCEP on its own →XISE on its own →

At a glance

6.1%

SCEP cash paid, since launch, Dec 11, 2025

6.1%

XISE cash paid, 1 year

+5.3%

SCEP total return, since launch, Dec 11, 2025

+7.0%

XISE total return, 1 year

SCEP · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 Not measured

SCEP

+5.3%

none

Not measured

SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SCEP

+5.3%

6.1% of it arrived as cash

Total return, distributions reinvested

Not measured

SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SCEP

+5.3%

6.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. SCEP since launch: paid 6.1%, price −1.0%, total +5.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

XISE · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 7.8 pts behind VOO

XISE

+7.0%

VOO

+14.8%

7.8 pts behind VOO

XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price +0.7%, total +7.0%, VOO +14.8%, −7.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

XISE

+7.0%

6.1% of it arrived as cash

7.8 pts behind VOO

Total return, distributions reinvested

7.8 pts behind VOO

XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price +0.7%, total +7.0%, VOO +14.8%, −7.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

XISE

+7.0%

7.8 pts behind VOO

6.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XISE over 1 year: paid 6.1%, price +0.7%, total +7.0%, VOO +14.8%, −7.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SCEP costs 0.20 points a year less.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

SCEP vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	SCEP	XISE
Paid and earned
Measure	SCEP	XISE
Total return, 1 year	not published	+7.0%
Price change	fell 1.1% (6 months)	rose 0.7% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	100% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment	0% of the Nov 3, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	SCEP	XISE
Benchmark	its own stocks	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, measured through VOO
Cost and size
Measure	SCEP	XISE
Expense ratio	0.65%	0.85%
Net assets, SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026 and XISE as of Nov 3, 2026	$235m	$33m
Holdings
Measure	SCEP	XISE
Holdings in common	0%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, SCEP and XISE hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SCEP XISE

Only in one fund ↓

Only in SCEP

ALPHABET INC 5.88%

APPLE INC 5.61%

NVIDIA CORP 5.61%

BROADCOM INC 5.51%

AMAZON.COM INC 4.60%

JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.50%

MICROSOFT CORP 3.43%

LAM RESEARCH CORP 2.60%

Only in XISE

2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 0.08 98.27%

2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.61 5.23%

2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 685.44 -2.83%

2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 761.61 -7.76%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF · Covered call on its own stocks, paying monthly XISE FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September · Buffer with income on VOO, paying monthly

Issuer Sterling Capital First Trust

Strategy covered call buffer with income

Benchmark SCEP's own stocks, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Jun 30, 2026) Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 7.0% 6.8%

Expense ratio 0.65% 0.85%

Cash paid, 1 year 6.1% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025) 6.1%

Price change, 1 year −1.0% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025) +0.7%

Total return, 1 year +5.3% (since launch, Dec 11, 2025) +7.0%

Benchmark return, 1 year not published +14.8%

Ahead or behind not available −7.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 0%

Age 328 days 3.1 years

Net assets, SCEP as of Jun 30, 2026 and XISE as of Nov 3, 2026 $235m $33m

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: SCEP vs XISE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	SCEP	XISE	SCEP	XISE	SCEP	XISE
3 months	−1.2%	+1.4%	1.7%	1.6%	+0.8 pts	+1.6 pts
6 months	+2.4%	+2.9%	3.5%	3.1%	+0.4 pts	−2.1 pts
1 year	–	+7.0%	–	6.1%	–	−7.8 pts
3 years	–	+21.3%	–	19.1%	–	−62.0 pts
Since launchNot the same days: SCEP Dec 2025 · XISE Sep 2023	+5.3%	+22.3%	6.1%	19.7%	not measured	−57.3 pts

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Alert

About each fund

SCEP

SCEP's own stocks, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Jun 30, 2026) returned +2.1% over the same days, so a holder was about even.

Over the 6 months to Nov 4, 2026, SCEP paid 3.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +2.4%. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.0%, paid monthly. Sterling Capital 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.

XISE

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XISE paid 6.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.0%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.8%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Nov 3, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, SCEP or XISE?: SCEP charges 0.65% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so SCEP is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SCEP vs XIMR SCEP vs LJAN SCEP vs LOCT SCEP vs LAPR XISE vs GRNI XISE vs CVRD XISE vs TCAL XISE vs HEMI

Where to next

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →SCEP on its own →XISE on its own →SCEP dividend history →SCEP holdings →XISE dividend history →XISE holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

SCEP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SCEP prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SCEP 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Sterling Capital website ↗

XISE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XISE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

XISE 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for XISE ↗

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, SCEP against XISE, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/scep-vs-xise

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