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Data as of .

MSFO vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?

Over the year MSFO paid 28.6% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 12.1%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.

YieldMax(R) MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF and NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF, side by side, income ETFs on ETFIQ.

28.6%MSFO cash paid, 1 year
12.1%SPYI cash paid, 1 year
+1.5%MSFO total return, 1 year
+15.8%SPYI total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Return Stability Score: MSFO scores higher

Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?

MSFO 69.7SPYI 64.39.1, the lowest in this set97.6, the highest

A percentile among the 61 income ETFs writing on a single company. 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

MSFO1.8 pts ahead of MSFT · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
MSFT−0.3%MSFO+1.5%1.8 pts ahead of MSFTTotal return, distributions reinvestedMSFT−0.3%MSFO+1.5%1.8 pts ahead of MSFT
SPYI1.7 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
SPY+17.5%SPYI+15.8%12.1% of it arrived as cash1.7 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+17.5%SPYI+15.8%12.1% as cash1.7 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, MSFO and SPYI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in MSFOOnly in SPYI
TREASURY BILL 32.44%NVIDIA Corp 7.57%
TREASURY BILL 31.42%Apple Inc 6.59%
TREASURY BILL 14.95%Microsoft Corp 4.32%
TREASURY BILL 12.47%Amazon.com Inc 3.65%
TREASURY BILL 8.72%Alphabet Inc 3.28%
Broadcom Inc 2.80%
Alphabet Inc 2.61%
Micron Technology Inc 1.99%

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.

Performance, window by window

MSFO and SPYI over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
MSFOSPYIMSFOSPYIMSFOSPYI
3 months+22.9%+4.0%11.8%3.0%−4.2 pts+0.7 pts
6 months+21.4%+12.6%21.0%6.3%−4.5 pts−3.4 pts
1 year+1.5%+15.8%28.6%12.1%+1.8 pts−1.7 pts
3 years+50.9%+56.5%79.0%37.4%−1.9 pts−21.3 pts
Since launch+55.4%+76.9%81.3%49.2%−1.6 pts−25.6 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
MSFO and SPYI on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
MSFO
YieldMax(R) MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF
Synthetic covered call on MSFT, paying weekly
SPYI
NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF
Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
IssuerYieldMaxNEOS
Strategysynthetic covered callcovered call
BenchmarkMicrosoft (MSFT)S&P 500 (SPY)
Paysweeklymonthly
Payout rate, annualized26.1%12.2%
Expense ratio1.03%0.68%
Cash paid, 1 year28.6%12.1%
Price change, 1 year−29.8%+2.6%
Total return, 1 year+1.5%+15.8%
Benchmark return, 1 year−0.3%+17.5%
Ahead or behind+1.8 pts−1.7 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate92%93%
Age1113 days1473 days

MSFO in plain words

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, MSFO paid 28.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 29.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +1.5%. Microsoft (MSFT) returned −0.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.8 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 26.1%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 92% of the distribution paid Sep 11, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).

SPYI in plain words

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.7 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% 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, MSFO or SPYI?
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, MSFO paid 28.6% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so MSFO paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, MSFO or SPYI?
With every distribution reinvested, MSFO returned +1.5% and SPYI returned +15.8% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so SPYI returned more.
Which is cheaper, MSFO or SPYI?
MSFO charges 1.03% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so SPYI 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.

MSFO against SPYI, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, MSFO against SPYI, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/msfo-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources