Active ETF Income Scorecard: Foreign Dividend Leads, Covered Calls Cool

Each week, we calculate the average YTD total return for hundreds of income-generating active ETFs across six equity and equity-like income categories — from dividend growth and covered calls to preferred stock and alternative income strategies — apply a minimum AUM threshold of USD 10 million to filter out funds lacking sufficient scale, and rank categories by that average, surfacing the top performers within each. The result is a consistent, data-driven weekly snapshot that helps income investors quickly identify where active management is delivering results right now.

Active ETF income investors are absorbing a week of broad consolidation: most category averages retreated modestly from last week’s highs as the dollar steadied and the AI-driven semiconductor fever that powered extraordinary covered call returns cooled, yet the global rotation into dividend-paying international equities remains the most durable income theme.

Income-generating active ETF categories are ranked below by the average YTD total return of some of the largest active ETFs in each category, as measured by their latest reported AUM.

Explore the full range of income-generating strategies among the active ETFs on Dividend.com.