FTKI vs IWMY

FTKIBFirst Trust Small Cap BuyWrite Income ETF

IWMYDR2000 Weekly Distribution ETF

In short

FTKI Most Russell 2000 income funds own the index and sell calls on it. FTKI runs an actively picked basket of roughly 300 US small caps, then writes index-level calls over the top: income first, appreciation second, paid monthly.

IWMY Most Russell 2000 income funds pay monthly. IWMY pays weekly, funding it by selling daily credit call spreads on the index while holding long exposure, with a stated policy target of 30% of NAV a year in cash.

Stated mandate

FTKI The Fund seeks current income first and capital appreciation second. It primarily invests in small-cap equities listed on U.S. exchanges and writes exchange-traded calls on the Russell 2000 Index or small-cap equity ETFs.

IWMY The Fund seeks current income as its primary objective and secondary exposure to the performance of the Russell 2000 Index.

Why people hold it

• FTKI Two moving parts, one wrapper: an actively chosen small-cap stock portfolio underneath, calls on the Russell 2000 or small-cap ETFs written over the top.ftportfolios.com
• The mandate puts current income first and capital appreciation second, and the cash goes out monthly.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 300 US-listed small caps sit under the options overlay, spreading the equity risk across the bench instead of a short list of names.

• IWMY Weekly cash rather than monthly: distributions are scheduled every week and sourced primarily from option premium on daily Russell 2000 credit call spreads.defianceetfs.com
• The 30% annual distribution target is stated policy, not a guess. You know the payout rule going in, and the manager adjusts the strategy to pursue it.defianceetfs.com
• Spreads, not naked calls: the fund buys a higher strike against each short call, so participation is limited between the strikes while long index exposure can still gain above the upper strike.defianceetfs.comdefianceetfs.com 2
• Live since 2023, one of the early weekly-payout ETFs, so the mechanism has run through real small-cap swings rather than existing only on a fact sheet.defianceetfs.com

Worth knowing

• FTKI At 0.86%, it prices above index-run Russell 2000 call writers such as RYLD and RYLG. Active stock selection is what you are paying the difference for.
• Writing calls swaps upside for premium. When small caps run hard, the overlay limits how much of that run the fund keeps.ftportfolios.com
• Launched in 2025 and still a small, lightly traded fund, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the category's heavyweights.

• IWMY At 1.05% a year it runs above the typical Russell 2000 options-income fund. IWMW charges 0.39% and RYLD 0.60% for their own takes on the same index.
• Distributions may include return of capital, which the issuer notes reduces NAV and trading price and over time can result in losses on the investment.defianceetfs.com
• Against its Russell 2000 income peer group, our review places it in the lower tier, driven mainly by cost and how the payout is funded relative to index exposure.

Full FTKI profile⁠

Full IWMY profile⁠