The income ETFs with the highest return of capital
CAIE leads the income ETFs with the highest return of capital at 100% (return of capital, latest distribution), as of Oct 21, 2026. 15 funds ranked by the issuer's own estimate for its latest distribution. A high figure is a tax characterization, not proof of erosion. Whether the fund earned what it paid is the total return column.
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| # | Ticker | Fund | Return of capital ↓ | Cash paid 1Y | Price change 1Y | Total return 1Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CAIE | Calamos Autocallable Income ETF | 100% | 14.1% | −2.5% | +12.5% |
| 2 | CAIQ | Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF | 100% | not published | not published | not published |
| 3 | QLDY | Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF | 100% | 35.6% | −22.8% | +15.7% |
| 4 | QQQY | Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF | 100% | 29.9% | −14.0% | +19.1% |
| 5 | WDTE | Defiance S&P 500 Weekly Distribution ETF | 100% | 27.8% | −14.6% | +15.8% |
| 6 | GOIB | Direxion GOOGL Defined Income Boost ETF | 100% | not published | not published | not published |
| 7 | DFII | FT Vest Bitcoin Strategy & Target Income ETF | 100% | 11.7% | −38.0% | −25.7% |
| 8 | LQTI | FT Vest Investment Grade & Target Income ETF | 100% | 8.4% | −11.7% | −3.4% |
| 9 | LTTI | FT Vest 20+ Year Treasury & Target Income ETF | 100% | 8.1% | −16.1% | −8.3% |
| 10 | SLVY | FT Vest Silver Strategy & Target Income ETF | 100% | not published | not published | not published |
| 11 | XIDE | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - December | 100% | 6.2% | −0.1% | +6.4% |
| 12 | XIJN | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - June | 100% | 6.9% | −0.6% | +6.5% |
| 13 | XISE | FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September | 100% | 6.0% | +0.1% | +6.3% |
| 14 | XVAP | FT Vest AAPL & Target Income ETF | 100% | not published | not published | not published |
| 15 | XVSP | FT Vest SPCX & Target Income ETF | 100% | not published | not published | not published |
Where the marker sits left of the bar's end, the fund paid out more than it made.
Method
Every figure is the issuer's Rule 19a-1 estimate for its most recent distribution, not an ETFIQ calculation, and not final until the tax year closes.
The rest of the method
The list sorts one published figure, with no scoring or weighting. Every fund ETFIQ covers in this category is eligible, closed funds included.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A ranking is not a recommendation or an opinion.
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ETFIQ, The income ETFs with the highest return of capital, ranked by the issuer's own estimate for its latest distribution, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/rankings/income-highest-return-of-capital
ETFIQ. (Oct 21, 2026). The income ETFs with the highest return of capital, ranked by the issuer's own estimate for its latest distribution. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/rankings/income-highest-return-of-capital
[The income ETFs with the highest return of capital, ranked by the issuer's own estimate for its latest distribution (ETFIQ, Oct 21, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/rankings/income-highest-return-of-capital)
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