Data as of .
MSTY vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year MSTY paid 35.1% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 12.1%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SPYI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
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
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, MSTY and SPYI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in MSTY | Only in SPYI |
|---|---|
| TREASURY BILL 21.68% | NVIDIA Corp 7.57% |
| TREASURY BILL 21.18% | Apple Inc 6.59% |
| TREASURY BILL 20.64% | Microsoft Corp 4.32% |
| TREASURY BILL 17.38% | Amazon.com Inc 3.65% |
| TREASURY BILL 15.04% | Alphabet Inc 3.28% |
| TREASURY BILL 4.07% | Broadcom Inc 2.80% |
| Strategy Inc 0.01% | 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 Jan 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTY | SPYI | MSTY | SPYI | MSTY | SPYI | |
| 3 months | +3.8% | +4.0% | 16.1% | 3.0% | −1.8 pts | +0.7 pts |
| 6 months | −7.2% | +12.6% | 32.0% | 6.3% | −1.0 pts | −3.4 pts |
| 1 year | −54.4% | +15.8% | 35.1% | 12.1% | +5.5 pts | −1.7 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +56.5% | not published | 37.4% | not published | −21.3 pts |
| Since launch | +56.5% | +76.9% | 223.1% | 49.2% | −27.1 pts | −25.6 pts |
| MSTY YieldMax(R) MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on MSTR, paying weekly | SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | YieldMax | NEOS |
| Strategy | synthetic covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | MicroStrategy (MSTR) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 110.5% | 12.2% |
| Expense ratio | 0.99% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 35.1% | 12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | −80.9% | +2.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | −54.4% | +15.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | −59.8% | +17.5% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.5 pts | −1.7 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 99% | 93% |
| Age | 932 days | 1473 days |
MSTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, MSTY paid 35.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 80.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −54.4%. MicroStrategy (MSTR) returned −59.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.5 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 110.5%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 99% 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, MSTY or SPYI?
- Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, MSTY paid 35.1% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so MSTY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, MSTY or SPYI?
- With every distribution reinvested, MSTY returned −54.4% and SPYI returned +15.8% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so SPYI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, MSTY or SPYI?
- MSTY charges 0.99% 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, MSTY against SPYI, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/msty-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.