Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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DGRO vs YMAX: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to YMAX's −4.0%, and DGRO charges 0.08% to YMAX's 1.33%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $44.6bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $352m for YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs.

At a glance
+18.8%
DGRO total return, 1 year
−4.0%
YMAX total return, 1 year
0.08%
DGRO expense ratio
1.33%
YMAX expense ratio

Pair scorecard

DGRO costs 1.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.8 points; DGRO is far larger, $44.6bn against $352m.

DGRO vs YMAX: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureDGROYMAX
Return
Total return, 1 year+18.8%−4.0%
Price change, 1 yearrose 16.4%fell 42.4%
Latest payout, annualized39.9%
Return of capital, issuer estimate35% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
What it tracksMorningstar US Dividend Growth IndexBenchmark: its own holdings
Against its benchmark, same daysbehind by 14.9 pts
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.08%1.33%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$44.6bn$352m
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
In the S&P 500, by weight92%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund27.2%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Jan 26, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 143 weekly returns
DGRO YMAX
Return
Total return edge DGRO +54.4% +38.1%
Annualized edge DGRO +17.1% +12.5%
Price return edge DGRO +45.6% −64.9%
Risk
Volatility edge DGRO 11.1% 21.8%
Max drawdown edge DGRO −12.1% −24.1%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge DGRO 1.08 0.45
Sortino edge DGRO 1.57 0.65
Calmar edge DGRO 1.41 0.52
Reading

DGRO returned more: +54.4% to +38.1%. DGRO swung less: 11.1% to 21.8%. DGRO fell less at its worst: −12.1% to −24.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: DGRO vs YMAX: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureDGROYMAXEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+54.4%+38.1%DGROPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+17.1%+12.5%DGROTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+45.6%−64.9%DGROPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility11.1%21.8%DGROSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation7.7%15.1%DGROLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−12.1%−24.1%DGRODeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe1.080.45DGROReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.570.65DGROReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar1.410.52DGROAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 143 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first DGRO YMAX
Only in one fund ↓
Only in DGRO
EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 3.24%
MICROSOFT 3.14%
APPLE 3.11%
ABBVIE 3.00%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2.77%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 2.68%
BROADCOM INC 2.55%
PROCTER & GAMBLE 2.42%
Only in YMAX
YieldMax AMD Option Income Strategy ETF 5.17%
YieldMaxTM PLTR Option Income Strategy ETF 5.06%
YieldMax MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF 4.93%
YieldMax AI Option Income Strategy ETF 4.75%
YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF 4.53%
YieldMax SNOW Option Income Strategy ETF 4.53%
YieldMax COIN Option Income Strategy ETF 4.41%
YieldMax Bitcoin Option Income Strategy ETF 4.36%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

DGRO iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF YMAX YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs
Where it sits Stock ETF Income ETF
What it is Tracks an index of Dividend Growth synthetic covered call, vs its own holdings
Total return, 1 year +18.8% −4.0%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +10.9% (its own holdings)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −14.9 pts vs its own holdings
Cash paid, 1 year not an income fund 36.1%
Expense ratio 0.08% 1.33%
Holdings 393 not read by ETFIQ
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $44.6bn $352m

DGRO and YMAX on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-90B6717BFC

DGRO and YMAX do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. DGRO follows Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and YMAX is measured against its own holdings.
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DGRO returned +18.8% and YMAX −4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 22.8 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
DGRO

DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

YMAX

YMAX's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned +10.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 14.9 pts.

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, YMAX paid 36.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 42.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −4.0%. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 39.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 35% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Are DGRO and YMAX in the same category?
DGRO is a stock ETF and YMAX is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or YMAX?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and YMAX −4.0%.
Which is cheaper, DGRO or YMAX?
DGRO is cheaper, by 1.25 percentage points a year. That is about $125 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, DGRO against YMAX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-ymax

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.