Data as of .
APRJ vs QQQY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQY paid 30.5% of its price in cash against APRJ’s 5.7%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: APRJ scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, APRJ and QQQY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in APRJ | Only in QQQY |
|---|---|
| TREASURY BILL 95.06% | Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% |
| TREASURY BILL 1.66% | Cash & Other 0.95% |
| TREASURY BILL 1.65% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 0.49% |
| TREASURY BILL 1.64% | Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% |
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 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APRJ | QQQY | APRJ | QQQY | APRJ | QQQY | |
| 3 months | +1.3% | −0.5% | 1.7% | 8.0% | −1.0 pts | +2.0 pts |
| 6 months | +3.8% | +24.3% | 3.0% | 17.4% | −14.2 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 1 year | +6.0% | +21.1% | 5.7% | 30.5% | −10.5 pts | −0.6 pts |
| 3 years | +19.3% | +59.1% | 17.4% | 88.1% | −59.1 pts | −39.0 pts |
| Since launch | +23.7% | +56.9% | 19.4% | 86.8% | −69.9 pts | −37.7 pts |
| APRJ Innovator Premium Income 30 Barrier ETF - April Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly | QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Innovator | Defiance |
| Strategy | defined income | option income |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | quarterly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 6.8% | 29.5% |
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 1.01% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 5.7% | 30.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | +0.1% | −13.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.0% | +21.1% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −10.5 pts | −0.6 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 69% |
| Age | 1264 days | 1100 days |
| Net assets | $31m | $188m |
APRJ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, APRJ paid 5.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.0%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.8%, paid quarterly.
QQQY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 13.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.6 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 29.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 69% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, APRJ or QQQY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, APRJ paid 5.7% of its starting price in cash and QQQY paid 30.5%, so QQQY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, APRJ or QQQY?
- With every distribution reinvested, APRJ returned +6.0% and QQQY returned +21.1% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, APRJ or QQQY?
- APRJ charges 0.79% a year and QQQY charges 1.01%, so APRJ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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, APRJ against QQQY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/aprj-vs-qqqy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.