Which returned more over the last year, RYLD or SPY?

In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, RYLD returned +21.0% and SPY returned +20.0%, so RYLD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Are RYLD and SPY the same kind of fund?

No. RYLD is an option-income ETF and SPY is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

RYLD vs SPY

Name: ETFIQ comparison of RYLD and SPY
Creator: ETFIQ
License: https://etfiq.com/standards/

Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

RYLD and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	RYLD Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Where it sits	Income desk	Core fund
Issuer	Global X	State Street
What it is	covered call, vs IWM	S&P 500, book from IVV
Total return, 1 year	+21.0%	+20.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+26.4%	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	−5.4 pts	+0.0 pts
Cash paid, 1 year	12.4%	not an income fund
Expense ratio	0.60%	not published
Holdings	n/a	504

RYLD in plain words

Over the year to Sep 4, 2026, RYLD paid 12.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 7.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.0%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +26.4% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.4 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 12.2%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Aug 27, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterisation rather than a measure of erosion).

SPY in plain words

SPY is a index equity fund tracking S&P 500, book from IVV. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +20.0% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, RYLD or SPY?: In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, RYLD returned +21.0% and SPY returned +20.0%, so RYLD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Are RYLD and SPY the same kind of fund?: No. RYLD is an option-income ETF and SPY is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Other comparisons

Where to next

Cite this page. ETFIQ, RYLD against SPY, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/RYLD-SPY.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. ETFIQ publishes the same fields for every fund and suggests no allocation. Standards and sources