Active ETF Income Scorecard: The Rally Pauses — But the Rankings Tell a Different Story

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 ETFs 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.

Every category in this week’s Active ETF Income Scorecard pulled back from last week’s gains — but the more interesting story isn’t the retreat. It’s what didn’t change: the structural ranking across all six income categories held firm for the third consecutive week, the gap between international and domestic strategies remained wide, and a sharp leadership reshuffle inside the alternative dividend category revealed just how quickly the options-driven income trade can unravel.

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.