Each week, we calculate the equal-weighted average YTD total return for hundreds of income-focused active ETFs across six categories. We include funds with at least $10 million in AUM and exclude leveraged and inverse funds. That shows which income categories are beating or trailing the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which generated a YTD total return of 10.35% through September 14, 2026.
Income-based Active ETF Scorecard
Dow Jones Industrial Average delivered 10.35% YTD total return through September 14, 2026. Here’s how each income category’s top active ETF performed.
Explore the full range of income-generating strategies among the active ETFs on Dividend.com.
Active Foreign Dividend (YTD Total Return: +20.79%)
Foreign Dividend keeps the top spot, but its average slid to 20.79% from 22.09% last week, a drop of roughly 1.3 points. Emerging-market currencies have erased their 2026 gains as the dollar firms into next week’s Fed decision, and that’s taking some air out of a category that had been running almost entirely on FX tailwinds.
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Quality Dividend Growth Fund (DGRE) still leads, up 33.24% YTD and yielding 2.0%. Abrdn Emerging Markets Dividend Active ETF (AGEM) follows, up 31.57% YTD and yielding 1.9%, with AI-linked semiconductor holdings doing much of the work. Cambria Emerging Shareholder Yield ETF (EYLD) is up 31.39% YTD, yielding 10.9%, and Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF (FYLD) rounds out the group, up 27.86% YTD and yielding 3.6%. Investors looking beyond U.S. borders for income can dig deeper on Dividend.com’s foreign dividend page.
Active High Dividend (YTD Total Return: +19.30%)
High Dividend cooled to 19.30% from 21.39%, its steepest weekly decline on the board. Shareholder-yield strategies here lean on buybacks and debt paydown rather than pure cash dividends, and that mix looks more exposed when equity markets pause ahead of a rate decision.
Cambria Micro and SmallCap Shareholder Yield ETF (MYLD) stays on top, up 25.44% YTD and yielding 2.0%. Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF (SYLD) is next, up 24.41% YTD and yielding 1.7%. Eventide High Dividend ETF (ELCV) holds third, up 19.83% YTD and yielding 1.8%, and John Hancock U.S. High Dividend ETF (JHDV) rounds out the four, up 21.45% YTD and yielding 2.2%. For the full lineup, check out Dividend.com’s high dividend resource page.
Active Dividend Growth (YTD Total Return: +11.82%)
Dividend Growth eased to 11.82% from 13.53%. This category never chased current yield to begin with, so the pullback looks more like broad equity softness than anything category-specific.
Freedom Day Dividend ETF (MBOX) keeps the top spot, up 20.95% YTD and yielding 1.9%. IMGP Berkshire Dividend Growth ETF (BDVG) holds second for a second straight week, up 19.15% YTD and yielding 1.6%. RJ Eagle GCM Dividend Select Income ETF (RJDI) is up 16.92% YTD, yielding 1.3%, and Altrius Global Dividend ETF (DIVD) closes out the top four, up 16.88% YTD and yielding 2.7%. Investors seeking durable dividend growers can explore the group on the Dividend Aristocrats page on Dividend.com.
Active Alternative Dividend (YTD Total Return: +10.31%)
Alternative Dividend slipped to 10.31% from 11.42%, but energy still dominates the top of the category. Brent crude has climbed past $104 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz standoff drags on, and every top fund here has direct commodity or MLP exposure.
Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF (PDBC) leads, up 49.36% YTD and yielding 2.8%. InfraCap MLP ETF (AMZA) is next, up 37.11% YTD and yielding 8.1%. Tortoise Energy ETF (TNGY) breaks into the top four for the first time, up 30.54% YTD and yielding 4.2%, edging out last week’s fourth-place fund. Invesco SteelPath MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF (PIPE) rounds out the group, up 30.40% YTD and yielding 3.9%. Real-asset income investors can size up the full group on Dividend.com’s alternatives and REIT resource page.
Active Covered Call (YTD Total Return: +9.37%)
Covered Call eased slightly to 9.37% from 9.95%, still the widest internal spread of any category. Moderna’s Phase 3 melanoma data with Merck keeps propping up single-stock option-income funds tied to the name, while a new oil-linked entrant cracked the top four this week.
YieldMax MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF (MRNY) is up 302.48% YTD, with a current distribution rate of 100.3%. YieldMax AMD Option Income Strategy ETF (AMDY) is up 99.13% YTD, distribution rate 45.7%. Defiance Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF (USOY) enters the top four on the same crude rally lifting the Alternative Dividend category, up 68.33% YTD with a distribution rate near 49.5%. YieldMax Target 12 Semiconductor Option Income ETF (SOXY) closes out the group, up 64.37% YTD with a distribution rate near 12.0%. A broader view of options-based income strategies is available in our covered call ETF guide.
Active Preferred Stock Dividend (YTD Total Return: +0.97%)
Preferred Stock stays last and keeps sliding, down to 0.97% from 1.72%. The Fed meets this week with markets pricing a real chance of a rate hike rather than a cut, driven by Iran-linked energy costs and lingering inflation concerns, and that backdrop is capping any recovery in rate-sensitive preferreds.
Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (PFFA) keeps the lead, up 3.80% YTD and yielding 9.9%. Cohen & Steers Preferred and Income Opportunities Active ETF (CSPF) is up 3.42% YTD, yielding 5.0%. Nuveen Preferred and Income ETF (NPFI) holds third, up 2.45% YTD and yielding 5.6%. Principal Spectrum Preferred Securities Active ETF (PREF) rounds out the group, up 2.05% YTD, yielding 5.2%. A closer look at preferred income options is available through Dividend.com’s preferred securities resource.
Categories to Watch
Every category lost ground this week, but the pullback wasn’t uniform. Foreign and High Dividend, the two leaders, gave up the most in absolute terms even though they remain well ahead of the pack — a sign the dollar’s recent firmness is starting to bite the categories that benefited most from its earlier weakness.
Alternative Dividend keeps adding new energy names to its top ranks as Brent grinds toward $105. With the Strait of Hormuz standoff showing no sign of resolution, that commodity tilt looks less like a rotation and more like the category’s new normal.
Preferred Stock Dividend remains the one category with nowhere to hide. This week’s Fed meeting carries real hike risk rather than the widely expected cut, and until that uncertainty clears, rate-sensitive income here has little room to bounce.
Use the Dividend.com screener to search for income securities that meet your specific needs.
For more updates on income investing and past issues of this scorecard, visit the Dividend.com news section.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
