Data as of .
LJAN vs QQQI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQI paid 15.2% of its price in cash against LJAN’s 4.9%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQI 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, LJAN and QQQI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in LJAN | Only in QQQI |
|---|---|
| TREASURY BILL 97.22% | NVIDIA Corp 8.58% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Apple Inc 7.79% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Microsoft Corp 5.84% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Micron Technology Inc 5.03% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Amazon.com Inc 4.36% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.02% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Alphabet Inc 3.24% |
| TREASURY BILL 0.40% | Meta Platforms Inc 3.14% |
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LJAN | QQQI | LJAN | QQQI | LJAN | QQQI | |
| 3 months | +1.3% | −0.7% | 1.2% | 3.4% | −1.0 pts | +1.8 pts |
| 6 months | +4.8% | +16.7% | 2.5% | 7.7% | −13.2 pts | −7.5 pts |
| 1 year | +5.1% | +16.4% | 4.9% | 15.2% | −11.4 pts | −5.3 pts |
| Since launch | +16.1% | +59.6% | 13.9% | 39.9% | −50.4 pts | −12.3 pts |
| LJAN Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - January Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly | QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Innovator | NEOS |
| Strategy | buffer with income | option income |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 4.8% | 14.0% |
| Expense ratio | 0.79% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 4.9% | 15.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | +0.1% | −0.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.1% | +16.4% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.4 pts | −5.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 98% |
| Age | 990 days | 962 days |
| Net assets | $12m | $14.8bn |
LJAN in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.4 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.8%, paid monthly.
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.0%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 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, LJAN or QQQI?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% of its starting price in cash and QQQI paid 15.2%, so QQQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, LJAN or QQQI?
- With every distribution reinvested, LJAN returned +5.1% and QQQI returned +16.4% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, LJAN or QQQI?
- LJAN charges 0.79% a year and QQQI charges 0.68%, so QQQI 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, LJAN against QQQI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ljan-vs-qqqi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.