Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
SPY vs ULTY: how they differ
Over the year SPY returned more, +17.5% against −5.8%, and SPY charges 0.09% against 1.30%.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and ULTY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in SPY | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORP 8.08% | Alphabet Inc 5.66% |
| APPLE INC 7.33% | Analog Devices Inc 5.47% |
| MICROSOFT CORP 5.59% | Amazon.com Inc 5.16% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 3.77% | Lam Research Corp 4.99% |
| ALPHABET INC CL A 2.98% | Ciena Corp 4.95% |
| BROADCOM INC 2.61% | Quanta Services Inc 4.95% |
| ALPHABET INC CL C 2.39% | Lumentum Holdings Inc 4.86% |
| META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 2.16% | NVIDIA Corp 4.80% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.
| SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Income ETF |
| Issuer | State Street | YieldMax |
| What it is | S&P 500 | synthetic covered call, vs SPY |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.5% | −5.8% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | 0.0 pts | −23.3 pts |
| Cash paid, 1 year | not an income fund | 46.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 1.30% |
| Holdings | 505 | not filed |
SPY in plain words
SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.2%.
ULTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, ULTY paid 46.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 53.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −5.8%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 23.3 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 61.5%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 10, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SPY or ULTY?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +17.5% and ULTY returned −5.8%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or ULTY?
- SPY charges 0.09% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so SPY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- 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.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPY against ULTY, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources