In the year to October 8, 2026, 56 of 176 index income ETFs finished ahead of the benchmark they write options against once every distribution was counted and reinvested. That leaves 120 behind. The median fund across the whole group trailed its benchmark by 2.6 percentage points on a total-return basis, meaning cash paid out and reinvested still did not make up for the index itself.
Results varied widely by issuer. Global X, with 14 of 15 funds through a full year, had 7 ahead of benchmark and a median gap of +0.4 points, alongside a median cash paid of 12.1% and a median price change of +1.8%. Overlay Shares and State Street also showed positive or near-flat median gaps, at +2.8 and −0.1 points. At the other end, Innovator's 14 full-year funds had none ahead of benchmark, a median gap of −10.3 points, despite a median price change of +0.0%. Westwood's two funds showed the widest single gap in the table, −24.7 points, even though median price change there was +13.3% and median total return +26.1%. YieldMax, with 17 full-year funds, had 4 ahead of benchmark, a median gap of −3.0 points, a median cash paid of 33.5%, and a median price change of −26.1%.
Return of capital, the share of a distribution that is not income or gains but a return of the shareholder's own investment, was a second axis in the data. Across 61 YieldMax funds with 19a-1 notices, the median fund's latest distribution was estimated at 31% return of capital, with 15 of those 61 funds at 90% or more. Other issuers ran higher: Global X's 15 funds showed a median of 99% return of capital, with 11 of 15 at 90% or more, alongside a median one-year price change of +1.8%. GraniteShares' 37 funds showed a median of 95%, with 25 of 37 at 90% or more, alongside a median one-year price change of −66.1%.
The table grouped by distribution rate shows the broader pattern. Funds paying under 8% a year had a median price change of +0.3% and a median total-return gap of −6.2 points versus benchmark. Funds paying 30% to 60% had a median price change of −41.4%, a median total return of −2.5%, and a median gap of −2.6 points. Funds paying 60% and above had a median price change of −71.8%, a median total return of −35.6%, and a median gap of −5.6 points against the benchmark. Cash paid rose steadily across these bands, from a median of 6.2% in the lowest group to 39.1% in the highest, while price change fell at each step up.
Readers working from the live desk can check any single fund's current distribution rate, its latest 19a-1 return-of-capital estimate, and its one-year price change and total return against the benchmark it tracks.