Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

IWMI vs IWMY: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IWMY paid 28.6% of its price in cash against IWMI’s 15.0%, though IWMI returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $1.3bn on Oct 28, 2026 for NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF, and $79m on Nov 3, 2026 for Defiance R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF.

At a glance
15.0%
IWMI cash paid, 1 year
28.6%
IWMY cash paid, 1 year
+18.6%
IWMI total return, 1 year
+7.9%
IWMY total return, 1 year
IWMI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 About even with IWM
IWMI
+18.6%
IWM
+19.0%

About even with IWM

IWMI over 1 year: paid 15.0%, price +2.8%, total +18.6%, IWM +19.0%, −0.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

IWM

+19.0%

IWMI

+18.6%

15.0% of it arrived as cash

about even with IWM

Total return, distributions reinvested

About even with IWM

IWMI over 1 year: paid 15.0%, price +2.8%, total +18.6%, IWM +19.0%, −0.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

IWM

+19.0%

IWMI

+18.6%

15.0% as cash

about even with IWM

15.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. IWMI over 1 year: paid 15.0%, price +2.8%, total +18.6%, IWM +19.0%, −0.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
IWMY · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 11.1 pts behind IWM
IWMY
+7.9%
IWM
+19.0%

11.1 pts behind IWM

IWMY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −21.4%, total +7.9%, IWM +19.0%, −11.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

IWM

+19.0%

IWMY

+7.9%

28.6% of it arrived as cash

11.1 pts behind IWM

Total return, distributions reinvested

11.1 pts behind IWM

IWMY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −21.4%, total +7.9%, IWM +19.0%, −11.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

IWM

+19.0%

IWMY

+7.9%

11.1 pts behind IWM

28.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. IWMY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −21.4%, total +7.9%, IWM +19.0%, −11.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

IWMI costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.7 points; IWMI is 16.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

IWMI vs IWMY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureIWMIIWMY
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+18.6%+7.9%
Price change, 1 yearrose 2.8%fell 21.4%
Return of capital, issuer estimate76% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkRussell 2000, measured through IWMRussell 2000, measured through IWM
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.68%1.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026$1.3bn$80m
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · IWMI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score71IWMI25.4IWMY

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

One year only, and a ratio of two published numbers: it says nothing about where a distribution came from. All income ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Risk and return

Jul 5, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 121 weekly returns · each against IWM
IWMI IWMY
Return
Total return edge IWMI +38.1% +22.1%
Annualized edge IWMI +14.9% +8.9%
Price return edge IWMI −1.6% −60.0%
Risk
Volatility edge IWMY (slight) 15.7% 15.3%
Max drawdown edge IWMY −21.4% −16.3%
Downside capture 83.9% 84.3%
Beta 0.77 0.71
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge IWMI 0.70 0.36
Sortino edge IWMI 0.99 0.51
Treynor 0.142 0.078
Calmar edge IWMI 0.70 0.55
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.9% a year −3.7% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.42 −0.97
Information ratio −0.38 −0.92
Tracking error 5.6% 8.2%
Reading

From Jul 2024 to Oct 2026, IWMI returned more: +38.1% to +22.1%. IWMY swung slightly less: 15.3% to 15.7%. IWMY fell less at its worst: −16.3% to −21.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: IWMI vs IWMY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureIWMIIWMYIWMEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+38.1%+22.1%IWMIPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+14.9%+8.9%IWMITotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−1.6%−60.0%IWMIPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility15.7%15.3%IWMY (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation11.1%10.9%TieLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−21.4%−16.3%IWMYDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture68.4%58.4%100.0%IWMIShare of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture83.9%84.3%100.0%TieShare of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.770.711.00IWMY lowerHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.960.861.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.700.36IWMIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.990.51IWMIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1420.0780.130IWMIReturn above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.700.55IWMIAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkIWMIWMIWMThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.9% a year−3.7% a year0.0%Not significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.42−0.97Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−3.3% to +5.1%−11.3% to +3.9%Both include zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.38−0.92IWMIReturn against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error5.6%8.2%0.0%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 121 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, IWMI and IWMY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWMI IWMY
Only in one fund ↓
Only in IWMI
Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF 99.81%
RUT US 12/18/26 C2910 -0.43%
RUT US 12/18/26 C2860 -0.65%
Only in IWMY
Rut 12/18/2026 200.34 C 99.12%
Rut 11/05/2026 2866.09 C 0.25%
Rut 11/05/2026 2856.95 C -0.38%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWMI NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF · Option income on IWM, paying monthly IWMY Defiance R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF · Option income on IWM, paying weekly
Issuer NEOS Defiance
Strategy option income option income
Benchmark Russell 2000 (IWM) Russell 2000 (IWM)
Pays monthly weekly
Payout rate, annualized 13.9% 29.9%
Expense ratio 0.68% 1.05%
Cash paid, 1 year 15.0% 28.6%
Price change, 1 year +2.8% −21.4%
Total return, 1 year +18.6% +7.9%
Benchmark return, 1 year +19.0% +19.0%
Ahead or behind −0.4 pts −11.1 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 76% 100%
Age 2.4 years 3.0 years
Net assets, IWMI as of Oct 28, 2026 and IWMY as of Nov 3, 2026 $1.3bn $79m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: IWMI vs IWMY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowIWMIIWMYIWMIIWMYIWMIIWMY
3 months−3.0%−6.1%3.4%7.0%+2.0 pts−1.1 pts
6 months+1.9%−2.3%7.0%14.0%+2.3 pts−1.8 pts
1 year+18.6%+7.9%15.0%28.6%−0.3 pts−11.0 pts
3 years–+36.8%–90.4%–−31.5 pts
Since launchNot the same days: IWMI Jun 2024 · IWMY Oct 2023+40.5%+40.4%34.4%92.7%−4.6 pts−38.1 pts

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About each fund
IWMI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IWMI paid 15.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.6%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +19.0% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.9%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 76% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

IWMY

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IWMY paid 28.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 21.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.9%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +19.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 29.9%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, IWMI or IWMY?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IWMI paid 15.0% of its starting price in cash and IWMY paid 28.6%, so IWMY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, IWMI or IWMY?
With every distribution reinvested, IWMI returned +18.6% and IWMY +7.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, IWMI or IWMY?
IWMI charges 0.68% a year and IWMY charges 1.05%, so IWMI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

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ETFIQ, IWMI against IWMY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/iwmi-vs-iwmy

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