WEPN · Nicholas Defense and Rare Earth Income ETF
Over the past year WEPN paid 5.7% in cash and finished 1.7 points ahead of ITA.
What a holder got
Over the year to Sep 4, 2026, WEPN returned −6.0% with distributions reinvested and Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy returned −7.8%, so a holder came out ahead of it by 1.7 points. The lighter segment is the 5.7% that arrived as cash rather than as price.
Period by period
| Window | Cash paid | Price | Total return | ITA | Ahead or behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | 2.9% | −2.3% | +0.7% | −1.6% | +2.3 pts |
| 6 months | 5.7% | −10.6% | −4.8% | −6.7% | +1.9 pts |
| Since launch | 5.7% | −11.8% | −6.0% | −7.8% | +1.7 pts |
In plain words
With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −6.0%. Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy returned −7.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.7 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 12.8%, paid weekly.
| Strategy | option income |
|---|---|
| Benchmark | Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy (proxy) |
| Pays | weekly |
| Net assets (SEC filing, whole fund, as filed for Apr 30, 2026) | $6m |
| Latest payout, annualised (ETFIQ) | 12.8% |
| Expense ratio (prospectus XBRL) | 1.11% |
| Cash paid, trailing 12 months (ETFIQ) | 6.4% |
| Launched | Mar 3, 2026 |
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation from exchange prices and cash distributions (Tiingo end-of-day), total return with distributions reinvested. Return of capital is the issuer’s estimate. How this desk computes every figure
Questions people ask
- How much has WEPN paid over the last year?
- Over the period from its launch on Mar 3, 2026 to Sep 4, 2026, WEPN paid 5.7% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price fell 11.8%.
- Is WEPN ahead of ITA?
- Over the period from its launch on Mar 3, 2026 to Sep 4, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, WEPN returned −6.0% against −7.8% for Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy, so a holder was ahead of it by 1.7 points.
- How often does WEPN pay, and how much?
- WEPN pays weekly. The latest distribution annualises to 12.8% at its price on Sep 4, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.
- What does WEPN cost?
- The prospectus expense ratio is 1.11% a year.
The words on this page
- Total return
- What a holder actually ended up with: price change plus every distribution, reinvested. The only figure that answers whether you came out ahead.
- Cash paid
- Distributions over the window as a share of what the fund cost at the start. A measure of cash delivered, not of return: a fund can pay a great deal and still lose money.
- Ahead or behind
- The fund’s total return minus the benchmark’s over exactly the same days, in percentage points. Both sides reinvest.
- Return of capital
- The issuer’s own estimate, in a Rule 19a-1 notice, of how much of a distribution was your own money returned. An estimate and a tax characterisation, not a measure of erosion.
- Covered call
- Selling call options on shares the fund holds. It collects a premium and gives up the gains above the strike, which is why these funds pay well and lag a rising market.
Every term this desk uses, defined in full on the income desk vocabulary page.
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.
Funds near this one
Put this on your own page
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<a href="https://etfiq.com/funds/WEPN.html"><img src="https://etfiq.com/embed/income/WEPN.svg" alt="WEPN payout bar, ETFIQ" width="640"></a>
<p><a href="https://etfiq.com/funds/WEPN.html">WEPN payout bar, updated daily by ETFIQ</a></p>Use this data, or open the live card
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Cite this page. ETFIQ, WEPN on the income desk, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/WEPN.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.