Is FCEF a Friend, Question Mark or Foe?

FCEF is classified a Friend under the Income Quality Score framework, based on long-duration distribution and total-return history. This is a research classification, not investment advice.

How safe is the FCEF distribution?

A Friend is an income asset whose long-term economic total return has historically covered its distributions and whose distribution has been stable over the available history. It describes a track record of durable, well-covered income.

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Public snapshot

FCEF Income Quality Score

Name: FCEF Income Quality Score
Creator: Income Quality Score
Keywords: FCEF income quality, FCEF dividend quality, FCEF dividend safety, FCEF distribution history, FCEF dividend score, FCEF analysis, First Trust Income Opportunities ETF dividend

First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) has an Income Quality Score of 73/100, classified as a Friend with high confidence, based on a 10-year income and total-return history.

First Trust Income Opportunities ETF (FCEF) is a income ETF and is part of the IQ Score universe.

July 2026 snapshotAs of July 7, 2026Lookback: 10-year

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Long-term focused10-year income and total-return analysis

Data-drivenObjective scoring across 7 quality, distribution and risk signals

Clear classificationFriends to own. Foes to avoid.

IQ Score

73/100

FriendHigh confidence

Asset Type

ETF

Exchange

—

Trailing Yield (TTM)

6.8%

Rank in ETF Universe

12 of 35

Lookback

10-year

Data as of

July 7, 2026

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About this snapshot
This is the public July 2026 snapshot. Public snapshots are delayed and frozen: once released, a month's scores do not change, and current data is reserved for members. The July 2026 snapshot is published as the public launch snapshot.

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IQ Signal Scores

7 quality, distribution and risk signals combined into the overall IQ Score.

Economic Payout Coverage

65/100

Distribution Cut Score

100/100

Distribution Trend

51/100

Total Return

66/100

Max Drawdown

70/100

Volatility

73/100

Yield Consistency

100/100

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IQ Score History

IQ Score trajectory since 2023

FCEF's IQ Score has 70 recorded points from 2023-05-31 to 2026-07-07, most recently 73, ranging between 50 and 76 over the period. Over that window FCEF recorded 3 classification changes. The chart above plots the score against the methodology's Friend and Foe thresholds and overlays a base-100 normalised price line for capital-preservation context.

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FCEF distribution history & safety

Across 11 years of distribution data (2016–2026), FCEF recorded 8 annual increases and no distribution cuts. Distribution stability is a core IQ Score signal — a long record free of cuts supports a stronger classification, while repeated cuts weaken it. Per-year figures are shown in the panel above.

Annual increases

2016–2026

Distribution cuts

2016–2026

Years of data

2016–2026

6.8%

Trailing yield (TTM)

As of snapshot

Stable

Distribution trend

Over available history

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IQ Score is a long-duration quality and distribution-safety classification for income assets. It is research based on historical data, not personal investment advice, and it does not tell you what to buy or sell. Figures reflect a delayed public snapshot and may differ from current data.