Data as of .
QLDY vs YYY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QLDY paid 29.2% of its price in cash against YYY’s 12.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: YYY 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, QLDY and YYY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QLDY | YYY |
|---|---|---|
| Cash & Other | -0.06% | 0.94% |
| Only in QLDY | Only in YYY |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 94.80% | abrdn Total Dynamic Dividend Fund 3.61% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 4.77% | BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust 3.33% |
| United States Treasury Note/bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 0.53% | Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp 3.32% |
| Ndxp Us 09/21/26 P29500 0.08% | Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund/Closed-end Fund 3.30% |
| Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05% | PIMCO High Income Fund 3.04% |
| Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 09/26 29650 -0.16% | Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund 2.98% |
| Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund 2.66% | |
| Western Asset Diversified Income Fund 2.45% |
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 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QLDY | YYY | QLDY | YYY | QLDY | YYY | |
| 3 months | −6.6% | −2.5% | 8.3% | 3.1% | −4.1 pts | −4.8 pts |
| 6 months | +20.1% | +4.7% | 18.7% | 6.5% | −4.2 pts | −13.3 pts |
| 1 year | +10.6% | +3.4% | 29.2% | 12.1% | −11.2 pts | −13.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +37.1% | not published | 37.7% | not published | −41.3 pts |
| Since launch | +10.6% | +117.8% | 29.2% | 112.4% | −11.2 pts | −519.1 pts |
| QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread(TM) Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | YYY Amplify CEF High Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | Amplify |
| Strategy | option income | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as the proxy |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 19.6% | 13.3% |
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 3.23% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 29.2% | 12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | −20.3% | −8.8% |
| Total return, 1 year | +10.6% | +3.4% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.2 pts | −13.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 100% | not published |
| Age | 365 days | 5211 days |
| Net assets | $52m | $702m |
QLDY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 20.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.6%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
YYY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, YYY paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.4%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as the proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.3%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QLDY or YYY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting price in cash and YYY paid 12.1%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QLDY or YYY?
- With every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +10.6% and YYY returned +3.4% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QLDY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QLDY or YYY?
- QLDY charges 1.04% a year and YYY charges 3.23%, so QLDY 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, QLDY against YYY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-yyy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.