FTHIFirst Trust BuyWrite Income ETF
Seeks to provide current income and capital appreciation.
By First Trust · Launched 2014
0.75%
#3,765 of 5,562 · expensive
$2.3B
#690 of 5,562 · large
8.76%
12 years
#1,156 of 5,562 · established
Performance
Total-return NAV · USDTotal-return NAV, USD. Net of fund fees, before tax.
Classification
How Beacon categorizes this fundWhat it actually holds
By weightConcentration
Top 10 holdings = 38.3% of fund✓ well diversified
Asset allocation
Risk profile
Last 12 months · Sharpe & Sortino need 3+ yearsYear-on-year price swings
Worst peak-to-trough loss
Where to buy
Listing
- Exchange
- NASDAQ Global Select Market
Full fund details
- Objective
- Seeks to provide current income and capital appreciation.
- Strategy
- Invests primarily in U.S. equity securities and employs a strategy of writing call options on the S&P 500 Index to generate income. The Fund may also invest in MLPs, REITs, and non-U.S. securities listed on U.S. exchanges.
- Inception date
- January 6, 2014
- Fund family
- First Trust
Similar ETFs
Closest matches by profileOur take
Structural notes on how this fund behaves. Read our guide on the 6 warning signs.
Covered call ETF — yield ≠ total return
The high distribution yield is not free income — it comes from selling upside via call options. Research finds these strategies systematically underperform their underlying index over full cycles, typically by 100–300 basis points per year depending on the option-overlay design. The monthly distributions make the shortfall hard to see in return summaries.
Source: Israelov & Ndong, 'A Devil's Bargain: When Generating Income Undermines Investment Returns' (NDVR, 2023)
Why we flagged this: strategy=option_income + option_income_strategy
Educational analysis of structural product characteristics. Not investment advice. Always read the fund prospectus and consult a qualified advisor before investing. More
What's next?
You've reviewed FTHI. Save it to your watchlist to track it alongside the other funds you're weighing.
Data updated on 2026-06-19