Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
JEPQ vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, JEPQ returned +14.2% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to JEPQ's 0.35%.
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askIQ about JEPQ and VTINet assets: $44.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.7 points.
| Measure | JEPQ | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.2% | +13.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 1.6% | rose 12.2% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 11.3% | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Benchmark: Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Against its benchmark, same days | behind by 1.0 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, JEPQ as of Oct 28, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $44.2bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 48% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 88% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.7% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 13, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 232 weekly returnsJEPQ and VTI returned about the same: +98.5% and +97.7%. JEPQ swung slightly less: 15.6% to 16.4%. VTI fell slightly less at its worst: −17.4% to −18.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | JEPQ | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +98.5% | +97.7% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.6% | +16.5% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +21.0% | +85.7% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.6% | 16.4% | JEPQ (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.6% | 10.8% | JEPQ (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.5% | −17.4% | VTI (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.78 | 0.75 | JEPQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.15 | 1.13 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.90 | 0.95 | VTI (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 232 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, JEPQ and VTI hold 48% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
48% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
JEPQ and VTI 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.
JEPQ and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. JEPQ is measured against Nasdaq-100 through QQQ and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 48% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Cost. JEPQ charges 0.35% of assets a year and VTI 0.03%, a gap of 0.32 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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JEPQ
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, JEPQ paid 11.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.2%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.0 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.3%, paid monthly.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Are JEPQ and VTI in the same category?
- JEPQ is an option-income ETF and VTI is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, JEPQ or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, JEPQ returned +14.2% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, JEPQ or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, JEPQ against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jepq-vs-vti
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[JEPQ against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/jepq-vs-vti)
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