Who paid, and where the cash came from
Over the year to Sep 9, 2026, 26 of 152 index income ETFs finished ahead of the index they write options on, once every cash payment was counted and reinvested. The median fund was −4.5 pts against its benchmark.
YieldMax estimates that the median fund's latest distribution was 81% return of capital, across 58 funds with 19a-1 notices.
The higher the distribution rate, the worse the price did and the further behind the benchmark the fund fell: a payout above thirty percent a year has mostly been paid out of the price.
Over the year to September 9, 2026, most index income ETFs finished behind the benchmark they write options on. Of 156 such funds, 26 ended ahead once every cash payment was counted and reinvested. The median fund was 5.0 points behind its benchmark over the period.
The gap was not evenly spread across issuers. State Street, with 12 funds tracked for a full year, had 5 finish ahead of benchmark, the highest count of any issuer, and its median fund trailed by 0.7 points. Aptus, with 3 funds tracked, had 2 finish ahead, and its median fund was actually ahead of benchmark by 3.9 points, paired with a median price change of +19.7%. At the other end, Innovator's 13 full-year funds had none ahead of benchmark, with a median gap of −13.2 points, and Nicholas's 2 full-year funds showed a median gap of −16.6 points. Westwood's 2 full-year funds carried the widest median gap in the table, at −23.9 points, despite a median price change of +16.5% and median total return of +29.8%.
Where the cash came from varied widely by issuer. Among 58 YieldMax funds with 19a-1 notices, the median fund's latest distribution was estimated at 81% return of capital, meaning most of what shareholders received was calculated as a repayment of their own invested capital rather than income or gains. GraniteShares showed a higher median at 96% across 28 funds, with 25 of them at 90% or more; its funds also carried a median one-year price change of −59.7%. By contrast, Global X and Defiance funds both showed a median return of capital of 100%, but tracked alongside more moderate median price changes of +4.8% and −12.8% respectively, illustrating that a high return-of-capital estimate on its own does not fix the direction of the fund's price.
Across all funds sorted by distribution rate, the pattern is consistent: the higher the payout, the worse the price performance tended to be. Funds paying under 8% a year had a median price change of +0.5% and a median total return of +10.5%, with a gap versus benchmark of −8.6 points. Funds paying 30% to 60% a year had a median price change of −38.3%, a median total return of +2.5%, and a smaller gap of −3.7 points. Funds paying 60% or more had a median price change of −56.8% and a median total return of −15.5%, the only negative median total return in the table, alongside the smallest median gap of −3.0 points. The summary notes that a payout above thirty percent a year has mostly been paid out of the price, a pattern these figures reflect: the highest distribution rates track the steepest price declines.
Readers can check the current 19a-1 return-of-capital estimates and one-year price and total-return figures for any individual fund on the live desk.
Results by issuer, index income funds, one year
| Issuer | Funds listed | Funds with a full year | Ahead of benchmark | Median gap | Median cash paid | Median price change | Median total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Trust | 21 | 20 | 2 | −9.3 pts | 8.5% | +0.3% | +8.6% |
| YieldMax | 22 | 17 | 2 | −4.4 pts | 35.4% | −27.9% | +11.4% |
| Innovator | 23 | 13 | 0 | −13.2 pts | 5.2% | +0.1% | +5.4% |
| Global X | 14 | 12 | 1 | −2.5 pts | 12.0% | +4.8% | +18.0% |
| State Street | 12 | 12 | 5 | −0.7 pts | 13.0% | −2.8% | +10.2% |
| not established | 14 | 9 | 2 | −8.0 pts | 8.4% | +1.1% | +13.4% |
| Amplify | 12 | 7 | 1 | −5.9 pts | 12.2% | +2.8% | +15.7% |
| NEOS | 12 | 6 | 2 | −1.3 pts | 13.7% | +0.8% | +14.5% |
| Roundhill | 6 | 6 | 1 | −1.8 pts | 29.9% | −22.2% | +9.1% |
| Defiance | 5 | 4 | 1 | −1.1 pts | 31.3% | −12.8% | +20.2% |
| Invesco | 4 | 4 | 0 | −2.0 pts | 10.1% | +6.1% | +17.3% |
| Aptus | 3 | 3 | 2 | +3.9 pts | 5.3% | +19.7% | +22.4% |
| ProShares | 6 | 3 | 1 | −3.2 pts | 6.6% | +13.3% | +20.4% |
| REX | 5 | 3 | 0 | −7.0 pts | 31.3% | −12.3% | +21.1% |
| VistaShares | 6 | 3 | 1 | −12.6 pts | 14.0% | −10.5% | +4.1% |
| iShares | 5 | 3 | 1 | −0.5 pts | 17.6% | −1.2% | +18.1% |
| Goldman Sachs | 2 | 2 | 0 | −0.8 pts | 10.1% | +9.5% | +20.4% |
| GraniteShares | 10 | 2 | 1 | +10.3 pts | 49.3% | −62.5% | −16.6% |
| Grayscale | 3 | 2 | 0 | −2.5 pts | 34.2% | −66.8% | −38.8% |
| JPMorgan | 4 | 2 | 0 | −7.6 pts | 10.1% | +3.0% | +13.7% |
| Nicholas | 6 | 2 | 0 | −16.6 pts | 25.9% | −21.6% | +5.3% |
| TappAlpha | 3 | 2 | 1 | −0.4 pts | 15.3% | +4.1% | +20.8% |
| Westwood | 3 | 2 | 0 | −23.9 pts | 11.5% | +16.5% | +29.8% |
Return of capital by issuer, latest 19a-1 estimates
| Issuer | Funds with notices | Median return of capital | Funds at 90% or more | Median price change, one year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YieldMax | 58 | 81% | 19 | −40.9% |
| GraniteShares | 28 | 96% | 25 | −59.7% |
| Global X | 13 | 100% | 10 | +4.8% |
| NEOS | 12 | 94% | 9 | +0.8% |
| Kurv | 10 | 85% | 4 | −18.3% |
| REX | 7 | 96% | 5 | −18.8% |
| Defiance | 5 | 100% | 3 | −12.8% |
The cost of the payout: by distribution rate, all funds, one year
| Distribution rate | Funds | Median cash paid | Median price change | Median total return | Median gap vs benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 8% | 51 | 6.6% | +0.3% | +9.2% | −8.6 pts |
| 8% to 15% | 54 | 11.9% | +2.9% | +15.0% | −3.7 pts |
| 15% to 30% | 39 | 24.0% | −15.6% | +14.1% | −5.9 pts |
| 30% to 60% | 36 | 36.2% | −40.8% | +1.7% | −3.1 pts |
| 60% and above | 19 | 47.6% | −56.8% | −15.5% | −3.0 pts |
Method. ETFIQ calculations from exchange prices and cash distributions (Tiingo end-of-day): cash as a share of the starting price, price change, total return with distributions reinvested, and the benchmark measured the same way. Return of capital is each issuer’s Rule 19a-1 estimate for its latest distribution. Medians across funds. Data file: https://etfiq.com/data/income.json. Rebuilt every trading night. ETFIQ is an independent publisher and makes no recommendations. Standards
Cite this page. ETFIQ Research, Who paid, and where the cash came from, data as of Sep 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/2026-09-09/income-ahead Free to use with attribution; the underlying file is at https://etfiq.com/data/income.json.