FTHI vs IVVW: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF

FTHIBNasdaq

iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF

IVVWACboe

Overlap

49.9%by weight

Expense ratio

IVVW −0.50pt a year

FTHI0.75%IVVW0.25%

Avg volume · 30D

FTHI 19.0×the volume

FTHI726KIVVW38.2K

FTHI vs IVVW Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+7.0%FTHI+13.4%IVVW

Expense ratio: FTHI 0.75%; IVVW 0.25%, better
Fund size: FTHI $2.5B; IVVW $338M
1Y total return: FTHI +7.0%; IVVW +13.4%, better
Yield (12M): FTHI 9.16%; IVVW 18.52%, better
Holdings: FTHI 188; IVVW 506
Avg volume (30D): FTHI 726K sh, better; IVVW 38.2K sh
NAV per share: FTHI $22.60; IVVW $42.84
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FTHI, IVVW, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FTHI	IVVW
Cost30% weight	D38	A97Higher
Mission25% weight	A90	A100Higher
Risk15% weight	C45	C54Higher
Tradability15% weight	A78Higher	C49
Holdings10% weight	A86Higher	A73
Durability5% weight	A94Higher	A72

Rank among S&P 500 Option Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FTHI and IVVW are both graded against the same 51 S&P 500 Option Income funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

S&P 500 Option Income⁠

Category · 51 funds

See all 51 ›

IVVW ranks 3rd and FTHI 18th of 51 funds in the S&P 500 Option Income Category.

Rank 1ABALIiShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETFScore 82
Rank 1ACSHINeos Enhanced Income Cash Alternative ETFScore 82
Rank 3AIVVWiShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETFScore 80
Rank 4AGPIXGoldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETFScore 78
Rank 17BISPYProShares S&P 500 High Income ETFScore 66
Rank 18BFTHIFirst Trust BuyWrite Income ETFScore 65
Rank 18BSPYHNEOS S&P 500 Hedged Equity Income ETFScore 65

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FTHIBFirst Trust BuyWrite Income ETF

IVVWAiShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF

In short

FTHI One of the original covered call income ETFs (2014): an actively picked US stock portfolio with S&P 500 calls sold over the top on 25% to 75% of the fund, so part of the upside stays unsold. Pays monthly.

IVVW BlackRock's version of the covered call: hold the whole S&P 500 through the iShares Core fund, sell one-month index calls struck 1% out of the money, pay the premium out monthly. All for a quarter-point fee.

Stated mandate

FTHI The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. It invests in U.S.-listed equities across market capitalizations and writes covered call options on the S&P 500 Index to generate additional cash flow.

IVVW The fund seeks to track an index strategy that holds the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and sells one-month call options primarily on the S&P 500 Index to generate income. The short option position is intended to be offset by the fund’s long position in the underlying ETF.

Why people hold it

FTHI The overlay is a dial, not a switch. The prospectus sets call notional generally between 25% and 75% of the fund, so managers can sell less premium and leave more equity upside open.sec.gov
Underneath the options sits a real stock portfolio, roughly 190 US-listed names across market caps chosen by the manager, not a copy of the index it writes calls on.ftportfolios.com
Calls are laddered across expirations under one year, struck at-the-money to slightly out-of-the-money, and premiums feed a monthly distribution.sec.gov
Live since January 2014, well before the derivative income boom, and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively. One of the stronger builds in a crowded S&P 500 income group.

IVVW Costs 0.25% a year against a category median near 0.60%. On an income strategy, that is less of the option premium quietly leaking out the door.
The calls sit 1% out of the money, so a slice of each month's rally still belongs to shareholders before the cap bites. At-the-money writers give that up.cboe.com
Rules over hunches: it tracks a Cboe index that pairs a long position in the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF with a short monthly S&P 500 call, rolled on a set schedule.cboe.com
Inside a crowded covered-call field where fat fees are the norm, this is one of the tighter builds in its peer group.

Worth knowing

FTHI At 0.75% a year it sits above the 0.60% typical for its peer group, and index-rules rivals like IVVW (0.25%) and GPIX (0.35%) charge far less for S&P 500 call income.
The calls are on the S&P 500 while the stock sleeve is its own selection, so the two can drift apart. The prospectus notes those index calls are technically uncovered.sec.gov
Selling calls trades away part of a rally for cash today, and the filings flag active trading that can push portfolio turnover past 100% a year.sec.gov

IVVW Covered calls trade upside for income. Above the strike, the month's gain is capped, and the premium cushions losses rather than blocking them.cboe.com
Monthly payouts come from option premium, so they move with volatility instead of arriving as a fixed amount.
Launched in 2024 and moderately traded, so the live record is short and spreads can run wider than the category's biggest names.

Full FTHI profile⁠

Full IVVW profile⁠

FTHI vs IVVW Holdings

How FTHI and IVVW differ

Overlap by weight

49.9%

Shared holdings make up 72.3% of FTHI and 62.6% of IVVW.

About this figure: FTHI earns income from options, which aren’t counted.

IVVW earns income from options, which aren’t counted.

Level by level

Holdings94 in both49.9%
Countryby domicile91.2%
Sector11 Sectors92.1%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in FTHI and IVVW, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	FTHI	IVVW
Consumer Staples	FTHI +3.2 points	8.5%	5.3%
Consumer Discretionary	IVVW +2.4 points	7.1%	9.5%
Communication	IVVW +2.4 points	6.4%	8.8%
Energy	FTHI +1.9 points	5.4%	3.5%
Real Estate	FTHI +1.6 points	3.5%	1.9%
Technology	IVVW +1.3 points	34.2%	35.5%
Health Care	IVVW +1.0 points	9.6%	10.6%
Materials	FTHI +0.8 points	2.6%	1.8%
Industrials	FTHI +0.5 points	8.6%	8.1%
Utilities	IVVW +0.4 points	1.7%	2.1%
Financials	IVVW +0.3 points	12.5%	12.8%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FTHI and IVVW, widest gap first
Country	Gap	FTHI	IVVW
United States	IVVW +8.8 points	90.8%	99.5%
Netherlands	FTHI +2.5 points	2.5%	0.0%
United Kingdom	FTHI +2.2 points	2.2%	0.0%
Canada	FTHI +1.4 points	1.4%	0.0%
Switzerland	FTHI +1.0 points	1.3%	0.3%
Other countries (12)	FTHI +1.7 points	1.9%	0.2%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FTHI36.4%
IVVW37.7%

Securities held

FTHI186
IVVW503

Asset class

FTHI: Stocks
IVVW: Stocks

Holdings

Only in FTHI92
In both94
Only in IVVW409

Only in FTHI

92 securities, 22.8% of FTHI by weight

ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares)1.94%
Coca-Cola European Partners Plc1.23%
Jackson Financial Inc. (Class A)0.77%
Novartis AG (ADR)0.74%
Royalty Pharma Plc (Class A)0.66%
IDACORP, Inc.0.59%
HF Sinclair Corp.0.55%
InterDigital, Inc.0.54%
TechnipFMC Plc0.48%
US Foods Holding Corp.0.47%
British American Tobacco Plc (ADR)0.46%
AngloGold Ashanti plc0.42%
Curtiss-Wright Corporation0.39%
Antero Midstream Corp.0.39%
The Toronto-Dominion Bank0.38%
Blue Owl Capital Inc. (Class A)0.37%
DT Midstream, Inc.0.35%
Nebius Group N.V.0.33%
Encompass Health Corporation0.33%
APi Group Corporation0.30%
AGNC Investment Corp.0.30%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.0.29%
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.0.28%
ITT Inc.0.28%
East West Bancorp, Inc.0.27%
ING Groep N.V. (ADR)0.27%
AerCap Holdings N.V.0.26%
Unilever PLC (ADR)0.26%
Urban Outfitters, Inc.0.26%
DHT Holdings, Inc.0.26%
Royal Bank of Canada0.25%
UMB Financial Corporation0.25%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (ADR)0.25%
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.0.24%
Southern Copper Corporation0.23%
Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. (ADR)0.22%
Watts Water Technologies, Inc.0.22%
Stellantis N.V.0.21%
Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc.0.21%
Liberty Media Corporation (Class C)0.20%
Sterling Infrastructure, Inc.0.20%
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.0.20%
Cloudflare, Inc. (Class A)0.19%
MYR Group Inc.0.19%
Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A./N.V. (ADR)0.18%
The Bank of Nova Scotia0.18%
Banco Santander S.A. (ADR)0.17%
Fluor Corporation0.17%
BankUnited, Inc.0.17%
Energy Transfer LP0.17%

Only in IVVW

409 securities, 37.5% of IVVW by weight

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B1.67%
Visa Class A1.13%
Mastercard Class A0.83%
Procter & Gamble0.61%
UnitedHealth Group0.56%
Home Depot0.54%
Thermo Fisher Scientific0.40%
Palo Alto Networks0.40%
Texas Instrument0.40%
Lam Research0.40%
Oracle0.36%
Walt Disney0.32%
Mcdonalds Corp0.31%
Pepsico0.30%
Abbott Laboratories0.30%
Verizon Communications Inc0.30%
Amphenol Corp Class A0.29%
Arista Networks0.28%
Analog Devices0.28%
Qualcomm0.28%
Welltower0.28%
Salesforce0.28%
American Express0.27%
Deere0.27%
Pfizer0.26%
Conocophillips0.26%
Intuitive Surgical0.25%
Accenture PLC Class A0.25%
Danaher0.23%
S&P Global0.22%
Uber Technologies0.22%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals0.22%
Eaton PLC0.21%
Progressive0.21%
Newmont0.20%
Bristol Myers Squibb0.20%
Lowes Companies Inc0.20%
Medtronic PLC0.20%
Capital One Financial Corp0.20%
Mckesson Corp0.19%
Marvell Technology0.19%
Automatic Data Processing Inc0.19%
Starbucks Corp0.19%
Parker-Hannifin0.18%
Lockheed Martin0.18%
Stryker0.18%
Cvs Health0.17%
Servicenow0.17%
Marathon Petroleum0.16%
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC0.16%

Weight gaps

All 94 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FTHI and IVVW, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	FTHI	IVVW
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	IVVW +2.88 points	3.33%	6.21%
Bank of America CorporationBAC	FTHI +1.50 points	2.01%	0.51%
Costco Wholesale CorporationCOST	FTHI +1.42 points	2.16%	0.74%
Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C)DELL	FTHI +1.38 points	1.54%	0.16%
Amgen Inc.AMGN	FTHI +1.34 points	1.73%	0.39%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.JPM	FTHI +1.29 points	2.69%	1.40%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	IVVW +1.28 points	2.73%	4.01%
Gilead Sciences, Inc.GILD	FTHI +1.16 points	1.49%	0.33%
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	IVVW +1.01 points	6.11%	7.12%
TransDigm Group IncorporatedTDG	FTHI +0.95 points	1.05%	0.10%
Linde PlcLIN	FTHI +0.94 points	1.31%	0.37%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A)META	IVVW +0.86 points	1.26%	2.12%
Fortinet, Inc.FTNT	FTHI +0.81 points	0.93%	0.12%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD	IVVW +0.80 points	0.35%	1.15%
Union Pacific CorporationUNP	FTHI +0.71 points	0.98%	0.27%
Colgate-Palmolive CompanyCL	FTHI +0.70 points	0.82%	0.12%
Altria Group, Inc.MO	FTHI +0.68 points	0.88%	0.20%
Alphabet Inc. (Class C)GOOG	IVVW +0.62 points	1.51%	2.13%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	IVVW +0.58 points	1.01%	1.59%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A)GOOGL	IVVW +0.56 points	2.07%	2.63%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO	FTHI +0.56 points	1.14%	0.58%
Crown Castle Inc.CCI	FTHI +0.55 points	0.61%	0.06%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	IVVW +0.53 points	1.18%	1.71%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.HLT	FTHI +0.53 points	0.66%	0.13%
United Parcel Service, Inc. (Class B)UPS	FTHI +0.47 points	0.60%	0.13%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	IVVW +0.46 points	1.74%	2.20%
Apple Inc.AAPL	FTHI +0.46 points	8.33%	7.87%
EMCOR Group, Inc.EME	FTHI +0.46 points	0.50%	0.04%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU	IVVW +0.44 points	0.79%	1.23%
AbbVie Inc.ABBV	FTHI +0.40 points	1.21%	0.81%
The Travelers Companies, Inc.TRV	FTHI +0.39 points	0.52%	0.13%
The Cigna GroupCI	FTHI +0.38 points	0.50%	0.12%
Equinix, Inc.EQIX	FTHI +0.37 points	0.53%	0.16%
Ross Stores, Inc.ROST	FTHI +0.36 points	0.48%	0.12%
APA CorporationAPA	FTHI +0.35 points	0.37%	0.02%
Chubb LimitedCB	FTHI +0.33 points	0.53%	0.20%
Vistra Corp.VST	FTHI +0.32 points	0.38%	0.06%
Yum! Brands, Inc.YUM	FTHI +0.29 points	0.36%	0.07%
Comfort Systems USA, Inc.FIX	FTHI +0.28 points	0.34%	0.06%
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.CBOE	FTHI +0.28 points	0.34%	0.06%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT	IVVW +0.25 points	0.17%	0.42%
Intel CorporationINTC	IVVW +0.24 points	0.20%	0.44%
Morgan StanleyMS	IVVW +0.24 points	0.10%	0.34%
Digital Realty Trust, Inc.DLR	FTHI +0.22 points	0.32%	0.10%
CME Group Inc.CME	FTHI +0.21 points	0.38%	0.17%
Citigroup Inc.C	FTHI +0.21 points	0.52%	0.31%
Aflac IncorporatedAFL	FTHI +0.20 points	0.29%	0.09%
NextEra Energy, Inc.NEE	IVVW +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Everpure, Inc. (Class A)P	FTHI +0.17 points	0.22%	0.05%
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (Class A)CRWD	IVVW +0.17 points	0.18%	0.35%
Casey's General Stores, Inc.CASY	FTHI +0.16 points	0.20%	0.04%
Wells Fargo & CompanyWFC	IVVW +0.16 points	0.24%	0.40%
International Business Machines CorporationIBM	IVVW +0.15 points	0.21%	0.36%
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ	FTHI +0.15 points	1.20%	1.05%
Duke Energy CorporationDUK	FTHI +0.15 points	0.31%	0.16%
Ciena CorporationCIEN	FTHI +0.15 points	0.20%	0.05%
Merck & Co., Inc.MRK	IVVW +0.14 points	0.43%	0.57%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A)PLTR	FTHI +0.13 points	0.71%	0.58%
Booking Holdings Inc.BKNG	IVVW +0.12 points	0.07%	0.19%
Caterpillar Inc.CAT	IVVW +0.11 points	0.29%	0.40%
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.ARE	FTHI +0.11 points	0.12%	0.01%
Wabtec CorporationWAB	FTHI +0.11 points	0.19%	0.08%
KLA CorporationKLAC	IVVW +0.10 points	0.18%	0.28%
Nordson CorporationNDSN	FTHI +0.10 points	0.13%	0.03%
Applovin Corp. (Class A)APP	IVVW +0.11 points	0.06%	0.17%
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.FIS	FTHI +0.10 points	0.12%	0.02%
NIKE, Inc. (Class B)NKE	FTHI +0.10 points	0.17%	0.07%
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp.XOM	FTHI +0.10 points	1.17%	1.07%
GE Vernova Inc.GEV	IVVW +0.09 points	0.23%	0.32%
Walmart Inc.WMT	IVVW +0.08 points	0.80%	0.88%
The Southern CompanySO	IVVW +0.08 points	0.09%	0.17%
TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (Class A)TKO	FTHI +0.07 points	0.09%	0.02%
Prologis, Inc.PLD	FTHI +0.07 points	0.26%	0.19%
Chevron CorporationCVX	IVVW +0.07 points	0.59%	0.66%
The Williams Companies, Inc.WMB	IVVW +0.07 points	0.05%	0.12%
The Charles Schwab CorporationSCHW	IVVW +0.06 points	0.17%	0.23%
Netflix, Inc.NFLX	IVVW +0.06 points	0.36%	0.42%
The TJX Companies, Inc.TJX	IVVW +0.06 points	0.18%	0.24%
Xcel Energy Inc.XEL	FTHI +0.05 points	0.13%	0.08%
WEC Energy Group, Inc.WEC	FTHI +0.05 points	0.11%	0.06%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.GS	IVVW +0.05 points	0.35%	0.40%
Sandisk CorporationSNDK	IVVW +0.04 points	0.15%	0.19%
RTX CorporationRTX	FTHI +0.04 points	0.44%	0.40%
GE AerospaceGE	IVVW +0.04 points	0.49%	0.53%
The Boeing CompanyBA	FTHI +0.03 points	0.25%	0.22%
AT&T Inc.T	IVVW +0.03 points	0.20%	0.23%
The Coca-Cola CompanyKO	FTHI +0.04 points	0.62%	0.58%
Simon Property Group, Inc.SPG	FTHI +0.02 points	0.14%	0.12%
BlackRock, Inc.BLK	IVVW +0.02 points	0.25%	0.27%
Edwards Lifesciences CorporationEW	IVVW +0.01 points	0.08%	0.09%
Microchip Technology IncorporatedMCHP	FTHI +0.01 points	0.06%	0.05%
Philip Morris International Inc.PM	IVVW +0.02 points	0.47%	0.49%
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (Class A)HOOD	FTHI +0.01 points	0.11%	0.10%
Ferguson Enterprises Inc.FERG	Same weight	0.07%	0.07%

All 193 FTHI holdings⁠All IVVW holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FTHI vs IVVW Cost

Overpaying FTHI vs IVVW

$9,323

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FTHI 0.75%
$14,482
IVVW 0.25%
$5,159

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FTHI 0.75%
IVVW 0.25%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FTHI	IVVW	Overpaying
10	$1,336	$455	$881
20	$5,078	$1,769	$3,309
30	$14,482	$5,159	$9,323

Expense ratio

0.75%FTHI
0.25%IVVW, cheaper

IVVW0.25%FTHI0.75%

0.10%1.18%

Middle half of S&P 500 Option Income funds
Median 0.60%

IVVW 2nd cheapest of 51 funds

FTHI 32nd cheapest of 51 funds

FTHI vs IVVW Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): FTHI 9.16%; IVVW 18.52%, better
Payout (12M): FTHI $2.11; IVVW $8.10
Last payment: FTHI $0.18; IVVW $0.58
Ex-dividend: FTHI Oct 21, 2026; IVVW Nov 3, 2026
Paid on: FTHI Oct 30, 2026; IVVW Nov 6, 2026
Frequency: FTHI Monthly; IVVW Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FTHIMonthly · 46 paymentsAll FTHI payments⁠

IVVWMonthly · 32 paymentsAll IVVW payments⁠

FTHI vs IVVW Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FTHI 7.4%IVVW 7.3%since Apr 2024
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FTHI 1.36IVVW 1.10since Apr 2024
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FTHI −16.7%IVVW −16.8%since Mar 2024
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FTHI 0.56IVVW 0.54; Market = 1

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