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

In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +20.0% and ULTY returned −2.9%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Are SPY and ULTY the same kind of fund?

No. SPY is an index ETF and ULTY is an option-income 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.

SPY vs ULTY

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

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF.

SPY and ULTY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF
Where it sits	Core fund	Income desk
Issuer	State Street	YieldMax
What it is	S&P 500, book from IVV	synthetic covered call, vs SPY
Total return, 1 year	+20.0%	−2.9%
S&P 500 over the same days	+20.0%	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	+0.0 pts	−22.8 pts
Cash paid, 1 year	not an income fund	48.3%
Expense ratio	not published	1.30%
Holdings	504	n/a

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%.

ULTY in plain words

Over the year to Sep 4, 2026, ULTY paid 48.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 52.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −2.9%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +20.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 22.8 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 60.4%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterisation rather than a measure of erosion).

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SPY or ULTY?: In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +20.0% and ULTY returned −2.9%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Are SPY and ULTY the same kind of fund?: No. SPY is an index ETF and ULTY is an option-income 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, SPY against ULTY, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/SPY-ULTY.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