Best Industrials & Cyclicals Covered Call ETFs of 2026
Industrials and cyclicals are the businesses that rise and fall with the economy, from infrastructure and industrial leaders to travel, aerospace and defense. Covered call ETFs in this group hold them and write calls for extra income.
It's a small group, so it's worth comparing these funds with the broader equity funds too, since the companies they hold often turn up in those as well.
So far in 2026, HIND has the strongest total return of the 3 ranked funds at +12.22%, and BGIE has the weakest at +2.03%. All 3 of them are in positive territory.
Key Takeaways
- HIND comes out on top with +12.22% this year.
- From best to worst the gap is 10.2 percentage points, so the label on the sector says little on its own.
- A short list like this one is easy to compare side by side; the table below has all 3.
How All 3 Funds Ranked in 2026
1. HIND: Harvest Industrial Leaders Income ETF
No fund in this group has done better than HIND, which has returned +12.22% so far in 2026. It got there from both directions, 5.3% on price and 6.9 percentage points in distributions. How it works matters as well: it writes calls on about 33% of the portfolio and it stays unhedged, so exchange rates add to or subtract from the return. The fund yields 7.92% annualized and comes with an MER of 0.99%. The line-up behind it has been running since 2016 and covers health care, tech, utilities, energy, banks, industrials and more, each with an active call program. Open it up and you'll find Lockheed Martin Corporation, United Parcel Service, Inc. and General Dynamics Corporation at the top.
2. TRVI: Harvest Travel & Leisure Income ETF
TRVI takes second place, up 2.66% this year. Strip out the payouts and it would be down; the units fell 6.2% while distributions contributed 8.9 percentage points. As for the strategy itself, it writes calls on about 33% of the portfolio and it hedges against changes in the Canadian dollar. Today's yield is 10.93%, and owning it costs 0.99% a year in MER. Harvest points out that call premiums can be taxed as capital gains, which can make this kind of income more tax-friendly than interest. At the top of its holdings list sit Marriott International, Inc., Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd..
3. BGIE: Brompton Global Infrastructure ETF
Last of the three is BGIE, with +2.03% so far in 2026. The payouts, 4.7 percentage points, outweighed a 2.6% drop in price. Its approach is fairly simple: it adjusts how much of the portfolio it writes calls on as markets change and its foreign holdings are hedged into Canadian dollars. In income terms, that's 6.58% a year, with an MER of 0.86%.
What to Watch in Industrials & Cyclicals Funds
These businesses tend to follow the economy, so the whole group can rise or fall together as growth expectations change. A fund's mix of industries, from rail and construction to travel, explains a lot of where it lands.
Because the group is small, it is worth comparing these funds with broader equity funds as well, which may hold many of the same companies.
How to Compare Them Yourself
The fairest first check is total return, with distributions counted. Price return understates the result for funds built to pay most of their gains out as cash.
After that, check where the return came from. Income from distributions and growth in the unit price both count, but a falling price can mean the payouts will shrink down the road.
Last, look inside and at the cost. Check the MER, whether the fund borrows to boost its payout, and how much its holdings overlap with funds you already own. Our Compare tool lets you line up any five funds and see these details together.
All 3 Funds Ranked
Too new to rank this year: EDHI.
How We Rank
Each fund's 2026 total return starts from the December 31, 2025 close and reinvests every distribution in more units on its pay date, which produces figures similar to the ones fund managers report. We rank the main Canadian-dollar units of each fund once and mention its other versions. Funds that launched during the year appear in a separate list until they have a full year behind them.
Past returns don't predict future returns. This article is written automatically from market data and updated every trading day; it is for information only and is not investment advice. Check each provider's documents before investing.