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FTHI First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF

Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% in cash and still finished 7.0 points behind SPY.

First Trust · Income ETFs · data as of

Key facts

8.9%Cash paid, 1 year, on its starting price
+10.5%Total return, 1 year
−7.0 ptsAgainst SPY
9.0%Latest payout, annualized

Method

ETFIQ Return Stability Score

54.0joint 67th of 161

FTHI paid 8.9% in cash and its price rose 1.1%, so the payout came out of returns rather than principal.

Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?

Against its benchmark
MLPD −38.1 ptsMDST −30.2 ptsSLTY −29.1 ptsBLOX −27.8 ptsEIPI −27.8 ptsYQQQ −27.6 ptsULTY −23.3 ptsGDXY −22.0 ptsHIGH −20.8 ptsTOPW −18.6 ptsTDVI −18.3 ptsYMAX −18.1 ptsHISF −17.3 ptsACKY −17.2 ptsWEEI −16.9 ptsNDIV −16.6 ptsLQDW −16.2 ptsOARK −15.8 ptsFDND −15.5 ptsTCAL −15.0 ptsQRMI −14.8 ptsSDVD −14.8 ptsLFGY −14.5 ptsSLJY −14.5 ptsSCLZ −14.1 ptsYFYA −13.9 ptsQUSA −13.5 ptsHYGW −13.0 ptsJULH −13.0 ptsXLRI −13.0 ptsMAGY −12.9 ptsYYY −12.7 ptsXLKI −12.6 ptsJULJ −12.4 ptsLJUL −12.4 ptsJANJ −12.3 ptsLJAN −12.3 ptsFGSI −12.2 ptsLOCT −12.1 ptsRNTY −12.1 ptsAIPI −12.0 ptsIWMY −12.0 ptsOCTJ −11.9 ptsHIPS −11.7 ptsJUCY −11.6 ptsXLEI −11.6 ptsAPRJ −11.3 ptsLAPR −11.3 ptsXISE −11.3 ptsXIJN −11.1 ptsCVRD −11.0 ptsJANH −11.0 ptsAPRH −10.9 ptsXBTY −10.7 ptsXIDE −10.7 ptsOCTH −10.6 ptsJEPI −10.3 ptsXIMR −10.1 ptsSRHR −9.7 ptsXRMI −8.7 ptsVEGA −8.3 ptsBUYW −8.2 ptsIAUI −7.9 ptsBAGY −7.7 ptsXV −7.5 ptsKHPI −7.3 ptsYBTC −7.3 ptsYLDE −6.8 ptsIGLD −6.1 ptsQQQI −6.1 ptsRDVI −6.0 ptsSPIN −5.9 ptsFEPI −5.8 ptsIWMW −5.8 ptsTYLG −5.7 ptsBITY −5.6 ptsSPUT −5.4 ptsWTPI −5.2 ptsPAPI −4.7 ptsXLVI −4.7 ptsETCO −4.3 ptsJEPQ −4.1 ptsCAIE −4.0 ptsFTKI −3.9 ptsGPTY −3.7 ptsIQQQ −3.7 ptsGIAX −3.4 ptsBIGY −3.3 ptsISPY −3.1 ptsRYLD −3.1 ptsWEEL −2.9 ptsYMAG −2.9 ptsRDTY −2.6 ptsXLBI −2.5 ptsNBOS −1.8 ptsRYLG −1.8 ptsSPYI −1.7 ptsFTQI −1.6 ptsKNG −1.6 ptsTSPY −1.6 ptsTHTA −1.5 ptsQQQY −1.3 ptsRDTE −1.3 ptsDIVO −1.2 ptsSIXH −1.2 ptsXYLD −1.2 ptsDFII −1.1 ptsGPIQ −1.1 ptsQDTY −1.1 ptsXYLG −1.1 ptsXDTE −0.9 ptsQDTE −0.7 ptsQYLD −0.7 ptsXLII −0.7 ptsXPAY −0.7 ptsEGGY −0.6 ptsJOYT −0.6 ptsSDTY −0.6 ptsWDTE −0.4 ptsBTCC −0.3 ptsQYLG −0.3 ptsGPIX 0.0 ptsDJIA +0.1 ptsDYLG +0.3 ptsIWMI +0.3 ptsKGLD +0.3 ptsXLFI +0.3 ptsIVVW +0.4 ptsLTTI +0.5 ptsLQTI +0.6 ptsPBP +0.6 ptsHYTI +0.9 ptsTDAQ +0.9 ptsCSHI +1.3 ptsBALI +1.4 ptsYETH +1.5 ptsHYBL +1.6 ptsXLUI +1.6 ptsCHPY +1.9 ptsBTCI +2.1 ptsSOXY +2.3 ptsITWO +2.5 ptsDOGG +2.7 ptsCEPI +2.9 ptsXLYI +2.9 ptsYBIT +2.9 ptsTLTP +3.4 ptsDUBS +4.0 ptsSEPI +4.7 ptsXLCI +5.2 ptsIDVO +5.4 ptsTLTW +5.4 ptsBCCC +6.3 ptsOMAH +6.5 ptsIDUB +6.9 ptsXLSI +8.8 ptsUSOY +10.5 ptsBUCK +10.9 ptsKLIP +20.9 ptsNVYY +24.6 ptsFTHI −7.0 ptsFTHI −7.0 pts−38.1 pts+24.6 pts

41.9% of the 161 sit at or below FTHI on this measure.

What happened to the principal
ETCO −75.0%XBTY −74.7%YETH −67.4%YBTC −61.4%BTCC −59.9%YBIT −58.9%BAGY −58.0%SLTY −54.4%ULTY −53.3%NVYY −52.4%BITY −51.9%BCCC −49.4%BTCI −46.9%DFII −44.8%LFGY −43.0%YMAX −41.0%BLOX −38.8%TOPW −36.6%OARK −33.3%KLIP −32.8%GDXY −32.5%YMAG −27.1%YQQQ −26.3%MAGY −25.8%IWMY −23.1%CEPI −21.0%RDTY −19.9%RDTE −19.4%QDTE −18.5%EGGY −15.1%TLTP −14.5%XLYI −14.1%LTTI −13.8%ACKY −13.7%WDTE −13.7%QQQY −13.0%QDTY −12.8%XDTE −12.8%AIPI −12.2%QUSA −11.8%LQTI −10.4%TLTW −10.3%SDTY −9.9%GIAX −9.8%XLUI −9.5%HIGH −9.3%LQDW −9.3%TCAL −9.0%FEPI −8.5%XV −8.4%IGLD −8.1%XLRI −8.0%XLCI −7.9%FDND −7.6%YYY −7.5%XLSI −7.3%RNTY −6.5%HYTI −6.3%GPTY −6.0%OMAH −6.0%XLBI −5.7%HYGW −5.6%IWMW −5.3%HIPS −5.2%XPAY −4.9%HISF −4.7%QRMI −4.2%USOY −4.0%XLFI −3.8%FGSI −3.2%BUCK −2.5%HYBL −2.5%JUCY −2.3%XRMI −2.3%MLPD −1.7%CAIE −1.6%IAUI −1.6%YFYA −1.6%IVVW −1.4%CVRD −1.3%JEPI −1.1%KNG −0.9%XIJN −0.7%JULJ −0.6%WTPI −0.5%CSHI −0.4%JULH −0.3%LJUL −0.2%XISE 0.0%JANH +0.1%JANJ +0.1%LAPR +0.1%LOCT +0.1%LJAN +0.2%OCTJ +0.2%XLII +0.2%APRJ +0.3%OCTH +0.3%XIDE +0.3%XIMR +0.4%APRH +0.5%TSPY +0.6%KHPI +0.7%BIGY +0.8%WEEL +0.9%SRHR +1.0%QQQI +1.5%XLVI +2.1%SPYI +2.6%QYLG +2.8%YLDE +2.8%BUYW +2.9%SDVD +3.0%XYLG +3.4%KGLD +3.8%THTA +3.9%DJIA +4.2%FTKI +4.3%SCLZ +4.4%PAPI +4.5%RYLD +4.7%XLKI +5.0%PBP +5.1%IWMI +5.3%DYLG +5.4%TDAQ +5.9%XYLD +5.9%JEPQ +6.0%SPIN +6.1%NBOS +6.5%SPUT +6.5%RYLG +7.1%GPIX +7.9%FTQI +8.0%DOGG +8.2%ISPY +8.4%QYLD +8.4%DIVO +8.9%MDST +9.3%VEGA +9.4%BALI +9.5%GPIQ +9.8%SLJY +11.0%RDVI +11.7%TDVI +11.7%IQQQ +12.3%SEPI +13.8%XLEI +13.8%SIXH +14.1%ITWO +14.3%EIPI +14.6%JOYT +16.1%IDVO +16.4%DUBS +18.9%WEEI +18.9%IDUB +19.0%TYLG +21.2%NDIV +22.9%CHPY +24.9%SOXY +68.6%FTHI +1.1%FTHI +1.1%−75.0%+68.6%

66.1% of the 161 sit at or below FTHI on this measure.

Weighted evenly, those two positions are what the score combines, across the 161 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. Neither spread above is the score: a fund can sit further right on one and score lower. A position in this set, not a rating: it moves when the set moves, and it is not a figure to average against another desk's.

What the score is computed from
What it measuresThis fundIts percentileWeight
against its benchmark−7.0 pts41.950%
what happened to the principal+1.1%66.150%

All income ETFs ranked by this score · How it is computed

12th of 354 income ETFs by net assets

What a holder got

FTHI against SPYFTHI returned +10.5% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy, a gap of −7.0 pts. Of that, 8.9% arrived as cash rather than price.+10.5%FTHI total return+17.5%S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy8.9% of it arrived as cash

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, FTHI returned +10.5% with distributions reinvested and S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +17.5%, so a holder came out behind it by 7.0 points. The lighter segment is the 8.9% that arrived as cash rather than as price.

Its ten largest equity positions

FTHI top ten by weight, 36.8% of its 187 equity positions, from the holdings published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. The options the fund writes are not positions of this kind and are not listed. Source: the issuer’s own daily file.
HoldingTickerWeight
Apple Inc.AAPL7.56%
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA6.80%
US Dollar$USD5.13%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT2.94%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM2.71%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN2.52%
Bank of America CorporationBAC2.42%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A)GOOGL2.30%
Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C)DELL2.25%
ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry ShaASML2.19%

Method

Period by period

FTHI over each window to Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowCash paidPriceTotal returnSPYAhead or behind
3 months2.2%+0.6%+2.9%+3.3%−0.5 pts
6 months4.6%+3.8%+8.6%+16.0%−7.5 pts
1 year8.9%+1.1%+10.5%+17.5%−7.0 pts
3 years28.8%+13.5%+48.2%+77.9%−29.7 pts
Since launch82.6%+19.3%+157.0%+414.6%−257.6 pts

Method

When FTHI pays

FTHI pays monthly. The last distribution was $0.179 a share, which went ex on Aug 21, 2026 and was paid on Aug 31, 2026. The next has not been declared. On its own cadence of about 30 days the ex-date falls near Sep 21, 2026; that date is an ETFIQ projection, not the issuer’s.

Expected distributions for FTHI. Where the basis is a projection, ETFIQ has carried the fund’s own spacing forward from its last ex-date and held the amount at the last one paid; neither is an issuer statement. Source: ETFIQ.
Ex-datePay dateAmountBasis
Sep 21, 2026Sep 29, 2026$0.179ETFIQ projection from the fund’s own cadence
Oct 21, 2026Oct 29, 2026$0.179ETFIQ projection from the fund’s own cadence
Every distribution ETFIQ holds for FTHI (13, most recent first)
Cash distributions per share for FTHI. Source: ETFIQ from Tiingo end-of-day distributions.
Ex-dateAmount
Aug 21, 2026$0.179
Jul 21, 2026$0.179
Jun 25, 2026$0.172
May 21, 2026$0.172
Apr 21, 2026$0.172
Mar 26, 2026$0.177
Feb 20, 2026$0.177
Jan 21, 2026$0.177
Dec 12, 2025$0.177
Nov 21, 2025$0.177
Oct 21, 2025$0.177
Sep 25, 2025$0.171
Aug 21, 2025$0.171

Every income ETF going ex-dividend in the next fortnight

Method

In plain words

Since it launched on Jan 7, 2014, FTHI has returned +157.0% with distributions reinvested, against +414.6% for S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy, and has paid out 82.6% of its starting value in cash along the way. It pays monthly, and at its current price the latest distribution annualizes to 9.0%. No Rule 19a-1 notice has been published for this fund, so there is no issuer estimate of how much of its distributions was a return of capital.

FTHI (First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF), income ETFs fields as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Strategycovered call
BenchmarkS&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy (proxy)
Paysmonthly
Net assets (issuer page, as of Sep 11, 2026)$2.5bn
Latest payout, annualized (ETFIQ)9.0%
Expense ratio (485BPOS XBRL, Apr 30, 2026)0.75%
Cash paid, last 12 months, over today’s price (ETFIQ)8.8%
LaunchedJan 7, 2014
Paysmonthly
Typical gap between ex-dates30 days
Typical wait from ex-date to payment8 days
Last paid, per share$0.179 ex Aug 21, 2026
Sum of the last 12 distributions$2.107

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 these figures are computed

Questions people ask

How much has FTHI paid over the last year?
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, FTHI paid 8.9% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price rose 1.1%.
Is FTHI ahead of SPY?
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, FTHI returned +10.5% against +17.5% for S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy, so a holder was behind it by 7.0 points.
How often does FTHI pay, and how much?
FTHI pays monthly. The latest distribution annualizes to 9.0% at its price on Sep 11, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.
When does FTHI next pay a distribution?
FTHI pays monthly. The last distribution went ex on Aug 21, 2026 at $0.179 a share. The next is not declared; on a cadence of about 30 days the ex-date falls near Sep 21, 2026, which is an ETFIQ projection. Payment usually follows the ex-date by 8 days.
What does FTHI cost?
The prospectus expense ratio is 0.75% 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 characterization, 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 used here, defined in full on the income ETFs 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

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FTHI payout bar, ETFIQ

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Where FTHI is written about

FTHI, Income ETFs, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. ETFIQ is an independent publisher, is not a fund issuer, broker-dealer or investment adviser, and makes no recommendations.
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Open FTHI live on ETFIQ, where the figures refresh with the data.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTHI, income ETFs, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/fthi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How these figures are computed · Standards and sources