Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

NLSI vs QQQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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NLSI and QQQI both write options for income.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $5.3m for NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF and $15.5bn for NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF.

At a glance
5.0%
NLSI cash paid, since launch, Dec 10, 2025
13.9%
QQQI cash paid, 1 year
+17.7%
NLSI total return, since launch, Dec 10, 2025
+8.9%
QQQI total return, 1 year
NLSI · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 5 pts ahead of SPY
NLSI
+17.7%
SPY
+12.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5.0% as cash

5 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5 pts ahead of SPY

NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+12.7%

NLSI

+17.7%

5 pts ahead of SPY

5.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. NLSI since launch: paid 5.0%, price +12.0%, total +17.7%, SPY +12.7%, +5.0 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
QQQI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 3.4 pts behind QQQ
QQQI
+8.9%
QQQ
+12.3%

3.4 pts behind QQQ

QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.9%, price −5.4%, total +8.9%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQI

+8.9%

13.9% of it arrived as cash

3.4 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.4 pts behind QQQ

QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.9%, price −5.4%, total +8.9%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQI

+8.9%

3.4 pts behind QQQ

13.9% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.9%, price −5.4%, total +8.9%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QQQI costs 2.21 points a year less; QQQI is far larger, $15.5bn against $5.3m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

NLSI vs QQQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureNLSIQQQI
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 yearnot published+8.9%
Price changerose 12.0% (since Dec 10, 2025)fell 5.4% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment100% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkS&P 500, measured through SPYNasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Against its benchmark, same daysahead by 5.0 ptsbehind by 3.4 pts
Cost and size
Expense ratio2.89%0.68%
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026$5.3m$15.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in common8%

Method

Risk and return

Dec 19, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 45 weekly returns
NLSI QQQI
Return
Total return edge NLSI +20.7% +7.8%
Price return edge NLSI +15.0% −5.3%
Risk
Max drawdown edge QQQI −13.3% −8.1%
Reading

From Dec 2025 to Oct 2026, NLSI returned more: +20.7% to +7.8%. QQQI fell less at its worst: −8.1% to −13.3%.

Full scorecard

3 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: NLSI vs QQQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureNLSIQQQIEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+20.7%+7.8%NLSIPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Price return+15.0%−5.3%NLSIPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Max drawdown−13.3%−8.1%QQQIDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 45 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

8%

By the books each fund has filed, NLSI and QQQI hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

8% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first NLSI QQQI
Micron Technology Inc 12.00% 4.34%
T-Mobile US Inc 4.14% 0.75%
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC 4.06% 0.61%
Western Digital Corp 2.46% 0.55%
Intuit Inc 4.45% 0.43%
AppLovin Corp 2.75% 0.34%
NXP Semiconductors NV 3.23% 0.30%
Diamondback Energy Inc 4.22% 0.24%
PayPal Holdings Inc 4.29% 0.23%
Teradyne Inc -1.31% 0.19%
Applied Materials Inc -1.44% 1.39%
Alphabet Inc -1.47% 2.66%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in NLSI
Marathon Petroleum Corp 5.94%
Valero Energy Corp 5.14%
Chevron Corp 4.51%
Walt Disney Co 4.42%
Phillips 66 4.39%
Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.30%
American International Group Inc 4.28%
KKR & Co Inc 4.25%
Only in QQQI
NVIDIA Corp 8.08%
Apple Inc 7.88%
Microsoft Corp 6.31%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc 3.56%
Tesla Inc 3.42%
Broadcom Inc 2.57%
Alphabet Inc 2.48%
Space Exploration Technologies Corp 2.26%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

NLSI NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying monthly
Issuer NEOS NEOS
Strategy option income option income
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 5.6% 14.7%
Expense ratio 2.89% 0.68%
Cash paid, 1 year 5.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) 13.9%
Price change, 1 year +12.0% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) −5.4%
Total return, 1 year +17.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +8.9%
Benchmark return, 1 year +12.7% (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) +12.3%
Ahead or behind +5.0 pts (since launch, Dec 10, 2025) −3.4 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 100%
Age 329 days 2.8 years
Net assets, as of Oct 28, 2026 $5.3m $15.5bn

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: NLSI vs QQQI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowNLSIQQQINLSIQQQINLSIQQQI
3 months+6.7%−2.2%1.4%3.5%+6.9 pts+1.3 pts
6 months+21.4%−0.2%3.0%6.9%+16.4 pts+0.1 pts
1 year–+8.9%–13.9%–−3.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: NLSI Dec 2025 · QQQI Jan 2024+17.7%+53.8%5.0%41.2%+4.9 pts−11.2 pts

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Client brief

No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for NLSI.

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About each fund
NLSI

Over the period from its first trade on Dec 10, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026, NLSI paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 12.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.7% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.0 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.6%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

QQQI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQI paid 13.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 5.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +8.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.4 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.7%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, NLSI or QQQI?
NLSI charges 2.89% a year and QQQI charges 0.68%, so QQQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, NLSI against QQQI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/nlsi-vs-qqqi

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