Out of 175 index income ETFs tracked over the year to October 6, 2026, 51 finished ahead of the index they write options on once every distribution was reinvested. The median fund across the whole group trailed its benchmark by 2.7 percentage points. The gap was not evenly spread across issuers, and it widened sharply as payout rates rose.
Among the larger issuers, results varied widely. Global X funds, with a median cash paid of 12.2% and a median price change of +2.5%, produced a median total return of +13.9%, and 6 of its 14 full-year funds finished ahead of benchmark. Overlay Shares and NEOS also showed more funds ahead than behind, with median gaps of +2.9 pts and +1.0 pts. At the other end, Innovator's 14 full-year funds had none ahead of benchmark, with a median gap of −11.4 pts, and Westwood's two funds showed a median gap of −21.6 pts despite a median total return of +25.2%. YieldMax, with 17 full-year funds, had only 3 ahead of benchmark; its median cash paid was 33.7%, its median price change was −26.1%, and its median total return was +4.6%.
Where the cash came from matters. YieldMax's 19a-1 notices, covering 61 funds, put the median return of capital at 88% for the latest distribution, with 29 of those 61 funds at 90% or more. The one-year median price change among YieldMax funds with notices was −41.1%. Other issuers in the return of capital table showed similarly high shares: GraniteShares at 95% median return of capital across 40 funds (27 at 90% or more, median price change −65.9%), REX at 96% across 7 funds, and Defiance at 94% across 5 funds. Global X, by contrast, showed a 99% median return of capital number alongside a median price change of +2.5%, a reminder that the return-of-capital label alone does not sort funds by price outcome.
The clearest pattern sits in the breakdown by distribution rate across all funds. Funds paying under 8% had a median cash paid of 6.2%, a median price change of +0.5%, and a median total return of +7.2%, with a median gap of −7.2 pts against benchmark. The 8% to 15% band showed a smaller gap, at −3.5 pts, with median total return of +12.7%. From there the relationship inverts: funds paying 15% to 30% had a median price change of −14.2%; those paying 30% to 60% had a median price change of −43.5% and a median total return of −2.9%; and the 60%-and-above group, 23 funds, had a median cash paid of 39.4%, a median price change of −73.3%, and a median total return of −33.8%, with a median gap of −7.0 pts. As the summary notes, a payout above thirty percent a year has mostly been paid out of the price.
Readers can check the current 19a-1 return-of-capital estimate and the latest one-year price change for any individual fund against its stated distribution rate on the live desk.