Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

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

NLSI and SPYI both write options for income.

NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF and NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF.

4.0%NLSI cash paid, 1 year
13.1%SPYI cash paid, 1 year
+19.3%NLSI total return, 1 year
+15.3%SPYI total return, 1 year
NLSI7.3 pts ahead of SPY · since launch to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+12.0%NLSI+19.3%4.0% as cash7.3 pts ahead of SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+12.0%NLSI+19.3%7.3 pts ahead of SPY
SPYI1.2 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%SPYI+15.3%13.1% of it arrived as cash1.2 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%SPYI+15.3%13.1% as cash1.2 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, NLSI and SPYI hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions NLSI and SPYI both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingNLSISPYI
NVIDIA Corp3.17%8.28%
Micron Technology Inc14.23%1.74%
Mastercard Inc2.86%0.70%
ServiceNow Inc1.99%0.21%
Capital One Financial Corp3.03%0.19%
Marathon Petroleum Corp3.13%0.19%
Progressive Corp/The3.80%0.19%
Valero Energy Corp3.04%0.18%
Adobe Inc3.37%0.15%
CME Group Inc2.28%0.15%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc2.83%0.13%
Intuit Inc2.85%0.13%
Only in each
Only in NLSIOnly in SPYI
Apple Inc 7.52%
Microsoft Corp 5.62%
Amazon.com Inc 3.82%
Alphabet Inc 3.12%
Broadcom Inc 2.59%
Alphabet Inc 2.50%
Meta Platforms Inc 2.22%
Tesla Inc 1.58%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.

Performance, window by window

NLSI and SPYI over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
NLSISPYINLSISPYINLSISPYI
3 months+15.6%+3.1%1.4%3.0%+13.3 pts+0.9 pts
6 months+24.6%+14.4%2.8%6.5%+6.6 pts−3.6 pts
1 yearnot published+15.3%not published13.1%not published−1.2 pts
3 yearsnot published+57.2%not published38.6%not published−21.2 pts
Since launch+19.3%+77.1%4.0%50.3%+7.3 pts−25.3 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
NLSI and SPYI on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
NLSI
NEOS Long/Short Equity Income ETF
Option income on SPY, paying monthly
SPYI
NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF
Option income on SPY, paying monthly
IssuerNEOSNEOS
Strategyoption incomeoption income
BenchmarkS&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxyS&P 500 (SPY)
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized5.1%12.1%
Expense ratio2.89%0.68%
Cash paid, 1 year4.0% (since launch on Dec 10, 2025)13.1%
Price change, 1 year+14.6%+1.2%
Total return, 1 year+19.3% (since launch on Dec 10, 2025)+15.3%
Benchmark return, 1 year+12.0%+16.6%
Ahead or behind+7.3 pts−1.2 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate100%93%
Age282 days1480 days
Net assets$5m$12.2bn

NLSI in plain words

Over the period since launch on Dec 10, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, NLSI paid 4.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 14.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +19.3%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +12.0% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 7.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Jul 31, 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 18, 2026, SPYI paid 13.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.1%, 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 is cheaper, NLSI or SPYI?
NLSI charges 2.89% 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.

NLSI against SPYI, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, NLSI against SPYI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/nlsi-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources