Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
ULTY vs VTI: how they differ
Over the year VTI returned more, +17.2% against −5.8%, and VTI charges 0.03% against 1.30%.
YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF and Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, ULTY and VTI hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | ULTY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 4.80% | 6.37% |
| Amazon.com Inc | 5.16% | 3.19% |
| Alphabet Inc | 5.66% | 2.90% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 4.15% | 1.31% |
| Lam Research Corp | 4.99% | 0.75% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc | 4.40% | 0.35% |
| Analog Devices Inc | 5.47% | 0.27% |
| Quanta Services Inc | 4.95% | 0.15% |
| Fortinet Inc | 3.56% | 0.13% |
| Robinhood Markets Inc | 3.84% | 0.11% |
| Coherent Corp | 4.50% | 0.11% |
| Astera Labs Inc | 4.56% | 0.10% |
| Only in ULTY | Only in VTI |
|---|---|
| IREN Ltd 4.80% | Apple Inc 5.88% |
| VanEck Gold Miners ETF/USA 4.33% | Microsoft Corp 3.84% |
| Amplify Junior Silver Miners E 4.21% | Broadcom Inc 2.48% |
| Shopify Inc 3.69% | Alphabet Inc 2.29% |
| Southern Copper Corp 3.20% | Micron Technology Inc 1.80% |
| Meta Platforms Inc 1.71% | |
| Tesla Inc 1.64% | |
| Eli Lilly & Co 1.41% |
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 Jun 30, 2026.
| ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF | VTI Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Income ETF | Core index fund |
| Issuer | YieldMax | Vanguard |
| What it is | synthetic covered call, vs SPY | US total market |
| Total return, 1 year | −5.8% | +17.2% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −23.3 pts | −0.3 pts |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 46.9% | not an income fund |
| Expense ratio | 1.30% | 0.03% |
| Holdings | not filed | 3531 |
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).
VTI in plain words
VTI is an index equity fund tracking the US total market. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3531 positions, with the top ten at 32.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ULTY or VTI?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ULTY returned −5.8% and VTI returned +17.2%, so VTI returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, ULTY or VTI?
- ULTY charges 1.30% a year and VTI charges 0.03%, so VTI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are ULTY and VTI the same kind of fund?
- No. ULTY is an option-income ETF and VTI is an index 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, ULTY against VTI, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ulty-vs-vti Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources