Over the year to September 24, 2026, 46 of 173 index income ETFs finished ahead of the index they write options on, once every cash payment is counted and reinvested. The median fund trailed its benchmark by 3.8 points. That gap sits alongside a wide range of outcomes across issuers, distribution levels, and the source of the cash paid out.
By issuer, results varied. Overlay Shares had 6 of its 7 funds with a full year ahead of benchmark, with a median gap of +2.7 points and a median total return of +9.2%. NEOS had 6 of 10 ahead, with a median gap of +0.8 points. At the other end, Innovator had none of its 13 full-year funds ahead of benchmark, with a median gap of −11.9 points, while Westwood's two funds showed a median gap of −19.7 points despite a median total return of +22.8%. GraniteShares' two funds with a full year posted a median gap of −15.0 points and a median total return of −19.3%, alongside a median price change of −40.4%.
Where the cash came from matters. Across 61 YieldMax funds with 19a-1 notices, the median fund's latest distribution was 87% return of capital, meaning most of the payment came from the fund's own assets rather than income or gains. GraniteShares' 40 funds with notices showed a median return of capital of 95%, with 28 of those funds at 90% or more. Global X, by contrast, showed a median return of capital of 99% across 15 funds, yet its median one-year price change was +3.3%, a reminder that the return-of-capital label alone does not predict price direction.
The distribution-rate table shows a pattern: the higher the payout, the worse the price did, and the further behind the benchmark the fund fell. Funds paying under 8% saw a median price change of +0.1% and a median gap of −5.0 points. Funds in the 15% to 30% range had a median cash paid of 23.5% and a median price change of −18.4%, with a median gap of −3.8 points. Funds paying 30% to 60% saw a median price change of −42.2% and a median total return of −1.0%, with a median gap of −6.1 points. The steepest payers, at 60% and above, had a median cash paid of 45.5%, a median price change of −58.7%, and a median total return of −16.5%, with a median gap of −4.1 points. Taken together, the data show that distribution rates above thirty percent a year have mostly been paid out of the price rather than from income generated by the underlying strategy.
Readers can check any individual fund's issuer, its full-year status, cash paid, price change, total return, and gap versus benchmark, along with its latest 19a-1 return-of-capital estimate where one exists, on the live desk.