# HISF (First Trust High Income Strategic Focus ETF)

First Trust · Income ETFs · data as of Sep 11, 2026

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, HISF paid 4.9% in cash and still finished 17.3 points behind SPY.

## Key facts

- HISF, cash paid, 1 year, on its starting price: 4.9%, as of Sep 11, 2026.
- HISF, total return, 1 year: +0.3%, as of Sep 11, 2026.
- HISF, against SPY: −17.3 pts, as of Sep 11, 2026.
- HISF, latest payout, annualized: 5.0%, as of Sep 11, 2026.
- HISF, net assets: $100m (issuer page, as of Sep 11, 2026).
- HISF, expense ratio: 0.83% (485BPOS XBRL, Feb 27, 2026).

## HISF over each window to Sep 11, 2026

| Window | Cash paid | Price | Total return | SPY | Ahead or behind |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3 months | 1.3% | −2.5% | −1.2% | +3.3% | −4.5 pts |
| 6 months | 2.5% | −2.7% | −0.2% | +16.0% | −16.2 pts |
| 1 year | 4.9% | −4.7% | +0.3% | +17.5% | −17.3 pts |
| Since launch | 12.1% | −1.7% | +10.9% | +55.5% | −44.6 pts |

## Every published field

| Field | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Strategy | covered call | ETFIQ |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy (proxy) | ETFIQ |
| Pays | monthly | ETFIQ |
| Net assets | $100m | issuer page, as of Sep 11, 2026 |
| Latest payout, annualized | 5.0% | ETFIQ |
| Expense ratio | 0.83% | 485BPOS XBRL, Feb 27, 2026 |
| Cash paid, last 12 months, over today’s price | 5.2% | ETFIQ |
| Launched | Feb 28, 2024 | ETFIQ |
| Pays | monthly | ETFIQ |
| Typical gap between ex-dates | 30 days | ETFIQ |
| Typical wait from ex-date to payment | 8 days | ETFIQ |
| Last paid, per share | $0.182 ex Aug 21, 2026 | ETFIQ |
| Sum of the last 12 distributions | $2.2454 | ETFIQ |

## Questions

### How much has HISF paid over the last year?

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, HISF paid 4.9% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price fell 4.7%.

### Is HISF ahead of SPY?

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, HISF returned +0.3% against +17.5% for S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy, so a holder was behind it by 17.2 points.

### How often does HISF pay, and how much?

HISF pays monthly. The latest distribution annualizes to 5.0% at its price on Sep 11, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.

### When does HISF next pay a distribution?

HISF pays monthly. The last distribution went ex on Aug 21, 2026 at $0.182 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 HISF cost?

The prospectus expense ratio is 0.83% a year.


## Cite this page

ETFIQ, HISF, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/hisf
Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at https://etfiq.com/data/.

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