WEPN Nicholas Defense and Rare Earth Income ETF
Option income on ITA, paying weekly
Since its launch on Mar 3, 2026, WEPN paid 6.1% in cash and finished 5.2 points ahead of ITA.
Key facts
What a holder got
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, WEPN returned −7.3% with distributions reinvested and Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy returned −12.5%, so a holder came out ahead of it by 5.2 points. The lighter segment is the 6.1% that arrived as cash rather than as price.
Its ten largest equity positions
| Holding | Ticker | Weight | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invesco DB Base Metals Fund | DBB | 6.48% | |
| AeroVironment Inc | AVAV | 5.72% | |
| Palo Alto Networks Inc | PANW | 4.93% | |
| Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | CRWD | 4.82% | |
| VanEck Steel ETF | SLX | 4.28% | |
| BWX Technologies Inc | BWXT | 4.14% | |
| Ondas Inc | ONDS | 4.02% | |
| Palantir Technologies Inc | PLTR | 3.99% | |
| General Dynamics Corp | GD | 3.92% | |
| Global X Lithium & Battery Tec | LIT | 3.66% |
Period by period
| Window | Cash paid | Price | Total return | ITA | Ahead or behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | 3.0% | −2.4% | +0.6% | −10.4% | +11.0 pts |
| 6 months | 6.2% | −5.0% | +1.1% | −3.7% | +4.9 pts |
| Since launch | 6.1% | −13.3% | −7.3% | −12.5% | +5.2 pts |
When WEPN pays
WEPN pays weekly. The last distribution was $0.0974 a share, which went ex on Sep 15, 2026, with payment about 1 day later. The next has not been declared. On its own cadence of about 7 days the ex-date falls near Sep 22, 2026; that date is an ETFIQ projection, not the issuer’s.
| Ex-date | Pay date | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22, 2026 | Sep 23, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
| Sep 29, 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 7, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
| Oct 13, 2026 | Oct 14, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
| Oct 20, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
| Oct 27, 2026 | Oct 28, 2026 | $0.0974 | ETFIQ projection |
Every distribution ETFIQ holds for WEPN (13, most recent first)
| Ex-date | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sep 15, 2026 | $0.0974 |
| Sep 9, 2026 | $0.1013 |
| Sep 1, 2026 | $0.1065 |
| Aug 25, 2026 | $0.1019 |
| Aug 18, 2026 | $0.108 |
| Aug 11, 2026 | $0.1013 |
| Aug 4, 2026 | $0.0931 |
| Jul 28, 2026 | $0.0935 |
| Jul 21, 2026 | $0.0944 |
| Jul 14, 2026 | $0.0982 |
| Jul 7, 2026 | $0.1001 |
| Jun 30, 2026 | $0.0938 |
| Jun 23, 2026 | $0.102 |
Every income ETF going ex-dividend in the next fortnight
In plain words
Since it launched on Mar 3, 2026, WEPN has returned −7.3% with distributions reinvested, against −12.5% for Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy, and has paid out 6.1% of its starting value in cash along the way. It pays weekly, and at its current price the latest distribution annualizes to 11.9%. 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.
| 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, annualized (ETFIQ) | 11.9% |
| Expense ratio (485BPOS XBRL, Feb 4, 2026) | 1.11% |
| Cash paid, last 12 months, over today’s price (ETFIQ) | 7.0% |
| Launched | Mar 3, 2026 |
| Pays | weekly |
| Typical gap between ex-dates | 7 days |
| Typical wait from ex-date to payment | 1 day |
| Last paid, per share | $0.0974 ex Sep 15, 2026 |
| Sum of the last 12 distributions | $1.1895 |
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 WEPN paid over the last year?
- Over the period from its launch on Mar 3, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026, WEPN paid 6.1% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price fell 13.3%.
- Is WEPN ahead of ITA?
- Over the period from its launch on Mar 3, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, WEPN returned −7.3% against −12.5% for Aerospace and defense (ITA), used as the proxy, so a holder was ahead of it by 5.2 points.
- How often does WEPN pay, and how much?
- WEPN pays weekly. The latest distribution annualizes to 11.9% at its price on Sep 18, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.
- When does WEPN next pay a distribution?
- WEPN pays weekly. The last distribution went ex on Sep 15, 2026 at $0.0974 a share. The next is not declared; on a cadence of about 7 days the ex-date falls near Sep 22, 2026, which is an ETFIQ projection. Payment usually follows the ex-date by 1 day.
- 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 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.
Compare WEPN
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Cite this page. ETFIQ, WEPN, income ETFs, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/wepn Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.