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Data as of .

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

Over the year OARK paid 38.6% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 12.1%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.

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

38.6%OARK cash paid, 1 year
12.1%SPYI cash paid, 1 year
+7.2%OARK total return, 1 year
+15.8%SPYI total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SPYI scores higher

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

OARK 11.2SPYI 64.33.2, the lowest in this set96.9, the highest

A percentile among the 161 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

OARK15.8 pts behind QQQ · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
QQQ+23.0%OARK+7.2%38.6% of it arrived as cash15.8 pts behind QQQTotal return, distributions reinvestedQQQ+23.0%OARK+7.2%15.8 pts behind QQQ
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%1.7 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, OARK 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 OARKOnly in SPYI
TREASURY BILL 37.81%NVIDIA Corp 7.57%
TREASURY BILL 30.32%Apple Inc 6.59%
TREASURY BILL 18.55%Microsoft Corp 4.32%
TREASURY BILL 10.80%Amazon.com Inc 3.65%
TREASURY BILL 2.51%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

OARK and SPYI over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
OARKSPYIOARKSPYIOARKSPYI
3 months+5.1%+4.0%9.6%3.0%+5.9 pts+0.7 pts
6 months+15.3%+12.6%22.6%6.3%−5.4 pts−3.4 pts
1 year+7.2%+15.8%38.6%12.1%−15.8 pts−1.7 pts
3 years+48.6%+56.5%82.9%37.4%−46.5 pts−21.3 pts
Since launch+53.5%+76.9%89.2%49.2%−99.6 pts−25.6 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
OARK and SPYI on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
OARK
YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF
Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly
SPYI
NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF
Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
IssuerYieldMaxNEOS
Strategysynthetic covered callcovered call
BenchmarkNasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxyS&P 500 (SPY)
Paysweeklymonthly
Payout rate, annualized37.1%12.2%
Expense ratio1.00%0.68%
Cash paid, 1 year38.6%12.1%
Price change, 1 year−33.3%+2.6%
Total return, 1 year+7.2%+15.8%
Benchmark return, 1 year+23.0%+17.5%
Ahead or behind−15.8 pts−1.7 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate39%93%
Age1388 days1473 days

OARK in plain words

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, OARK paid 38.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 33.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.2%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy returned +23.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 15.8 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 37.1%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 39% 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, OARK or SPYI?
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, OARK paid 38.6% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so OARK paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, OARK or SPYI?
With every distribution reinvested, OARK returned +7.2% and SPYI returned +15.8% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so SPYI returned more.
Which is cheaper, OARK or SPYI?
OARK charges 1.00% 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.

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

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources