Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
NLSI vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
NLSI and SPY are measured over different days, and SPY charges 0.09% to NLSI's 2.89%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $5.3m for NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF and $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 2.80 points a year less; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $5.3m.
| Measure | NLSI | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | not published | +13.6% |
| Cash paid, share of starting value, since Dec 10, 2025 | 5.0% | |
| Price change, since Dec 10, 2025 | rose 16.2% | |
| Latest payout, annualized | 5.4% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 97% of the Sep 25, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY | S&P 500 Index |
| Against its benchmark, same days | ahead by 8.5 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 2.89% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $5.3m | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 6% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 19, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 44 weekly returnsNLSI returned more: +21.4% to +12.5%. SPY fell less at its worst: −8.4% to −13.3%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NLSI | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +21.4% | +12.5% | NLSI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +16.1% | +11.7% | NLSI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −13.3% | −8.4% | SPY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 44 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, NLSI and SPY hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
6% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
NLSI and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for NLSI.
NLSI
Over the period from its first trade on Dec 10, 2025 to Oct 28, 2026, NLSI paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 16.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +22.0%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.5% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 8.5 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.4%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 97% of the distribution paid Sep 25, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Are NLSI and SPY in the same category?
- NLSI is an option-income ETF and SPY is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which is cheaper, NLSI or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 2.80 percentage points a year. That is about $280 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, NLSI against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nlsi-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). NLSI against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nlsi-vs-spy
[NLSI against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nlsi-vs-spy)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.