Data as of .
CAIQ vs OARK: which paid, and which earned it?
CAIQ and OARK both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, CAIQ and OARK hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in CAIQ | Only in OARK |
|---|---|
| Calamos Tax-Aware Collateral ETF 100.00% | United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 31.97% |
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 31.91% | |
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 22.43% | |
| 2ARKK US 11/20/26 C85.01 FLX 8.43% | |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 6.55% | |
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 3.23% | |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 1.09% | |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C86 0.66% |
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAIQ | OARK | CAIQ | OARK | CAIQ | OARK | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +3.9% | 4.3% | 9.0% | +1.9 pts | +6.4 pts |
| 6 months | +16.5% | +20.0% | 9.5% | 22.6% | −7.7 pts | −4.2 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +6.6% | not published | 37.4% | not published | −15.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +61.9% | not published | 87.5% | not published | −36.3 pts |
| Since launch | +16.7% | +58.8% | 13.7% | 89.4% | −7.0 pts | −96.7 pts |
| CAIQ Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | OARK YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Calamos | YieldMax |
| Strategy | option income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 17.9% | 27.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.74% | 1.00% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 13.7% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025) | 37.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +2.1% | −34.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.7% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025) | +6.6% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +23.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −7.0 pts | −15.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 0% |
| Age | 302 days | 1395 days |
| Net assets | $167m | $32m |
CAIQ in plain words
Over the period since launch on Nov 20, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, CAIQ paid 13.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.7%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.0 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 17.9%, paid monthly.
OARK in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 34.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 15.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 27.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% 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 is cheaper, CAIQ or OARK?
- CAIQ charges 0.74% a year and OARK charges 1.00%, so CAIQ 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, CAIQ against OARK, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/caiq-vs-oark Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.