Data as of .
OARK vs XISE: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year OARK paid 37.4% of its price in cash against XISE’s 6.5% and the two finished level on total return.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: XISE scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 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
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, OARK and XISE hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | OARK | XISE |
|---|---|---|
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 | 22.43% | 0.54% |
| Only in OARK | Only in XISE |
|---|---|
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 31.97% | 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 0.08 98.96% |
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 31.91% | 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.61 5.02% |
| 2ARKK US 11/20/26 C85.01 FLX 8.43% | US Dollar 1.19% |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 6.55% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 01/28/2027 0.55% |
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 3.23% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 02/25/2027 0.55% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 1.09% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 0.55% |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C86 0.66% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/01/2026 0.55% |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C91 0.26% | U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/31/2026 0.55% |
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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OARK | XISE | OARK | XISE | OARK | XISE | |
| 3 months | +3.9% | +1.2% | 9.0% | 2.0% | +6.4 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 6 months | +20.0% | +4.9% | 22.6% | 3.6% | −4.2 pts | −13.2 pts |
| 1 year | +6.6% | +6.1% | 37.4% | 6.5% | −15.2 pts | −10.5 pts |
| 3 years | +61.9% | +20.9% | 87.5% | 19.1% | −36.3 pts | −57.5 pts |
| Since launch | +58.8% | +21.1% | 89.4% | 19.2% | −96.7 pts | −57.0 pts |
| OARK YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | XISE FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | YieldMax | First Trust |
| Strategy | synthetic covered call | buffer with income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 27.9% | 6.0% |
| Expense ratio | 1.00% | 0.85% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 37.4% | 6.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −34.0% | −0.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.6% | +6.1% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −15.2 pts | −10.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 0% | not published |
| Age | 1395 days | 1096 days |
| Net assets | $32m | $32m |
OARK in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 34.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 15.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 27.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
XISE in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, XISE paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.0%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, OARK or XISE?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting price in cash and XISE paid 6.5%, 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 XISE?
- With every distribution reinvested, OARK returned +6.6% and XISE returned +6.1% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so OARK returned more.
- Which is cheaper, OARK or XISE?
- OARK charges 1.00% a year and XISE charges 0.85%, so XISE 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, OARK against XISE, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/oark-vs-xise Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.