The question
"I've heard of a fund. Its page is full of numbers. What do I actually look at?"
The idea
- You don't need every number. Five questions, in order, tell you most of what matters about any fund:What does it own, and how?What does it cost?What did it return, against what it's measured against?How far has it fallen?Did it do what it says?
- Each has an answer on an ETFIQ fund page. For anything else, ask askIQ, ETFIQ's AI assistant, right on the page.
Worked example
We'll check JEPI, a large income fund (one built to pay out cash regularly). It's an example for practice, not a pick.
1. What does it own, and how? The page says it "writes calls through equity-linked notes on the S&P 500, paying monthly". In plain words: it owns US stocks and sells others the right to some of their future gains, for cash now (the options of lesson 5). That cash is paid to holders each month. It holds 131 positions, and its ten largest are 19% of the fund.
2. What does it cost? The expense ratio (lesson 4) is 0.35% a year: $10,000 × 0.35% = $35 a year.
3. What did it return, against its benchmark? A benchmark is the yardstick a fund is measured against. JEPI's is the S&P 500, measured through SPY. Over the year to Nov 10, 2026:
- JEPI paid 8.0% in cash and returned +10.1% in total return (price change plus cash paid, as in lesson 3). $10,000 became $11,010.
- SPY returned +11.2%. $10,000 became $11,123.
- The gap: $11,123 − $11,010 = $113 behind.
The big payout didn't mean the bigger result. Most of JEPI's return came out as cash; its price rose just 1.7%.
4. How far has it fallen? The page's scorecard covers May 2020 to November 2026. JEPI's worst fall (the biggest drop from a high to a later low, also called max drawdown) was −13.1%, against −23.9% for SPY. It fell less, and rose less: +90.8% against +164.3%.
5. Did it do what it says? ETFIQ's Promise check reads "Did what it promises: Yes": over the year, its total return was 126.3% of the cash it paid out, so the payout came from what the fund earned, not from shrinking it.
In one line: a fund that paid steady cash, fell less and grew less than the S&P 500, for $35 a year per $10,000.
The common mistake
"The fund with the biggest payout makes the most money." Payout and return are different numbers. JEPI paid 8.0% in cash yet returned less than SPY, which paid about 1.1%. Always read total return beside the payout, against the fund's own benchmark.
Check your understanding
Pick an answer to see why. Two of three right passes the lesson.
1. What is a benchmark?Answer: B. The yardstick a fund's result is measured against. it tells you whether the fund's result was good for what it is. Not D: payouts are part of a fund's return, not the yardstick for it.2. Over the year to Nov 10, 2026, how did $10,000 in JEPI compare with $10,000 in SPY?Answer: B. JEPI was $113 behind. $11,010 against $11,123. Not D: the cash payout is already counted inside JEPI's total return.3. Fund Z pays 10% a year in cash, but its total return over the same year was 4%. What does that tell you?Answer: B. Its price fell, so part of the payout came out of the fund's value. when total return is below the cash paid, the price dropped by about the difference. Not A: the payout is part of total return, not added on top.
Takeaways
- Ask five questions of any fund: holdings, cost, return against its benchmark, worst fall, promise kept.
- Read total return beside the payout. Cash paid out is not the same as money made.
- Open the fund's page on ETFIQ and ask askIQ about anything unclear.