Data as of .
QQQY vs SCEP: which paid, and which earned it?
QQQY and SCEP both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QQQY and SCEP hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QQQY | Only in SCEP |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% | ALPHABET INC 5.98% |
| Cash & Other 0.95% | APPLE INC 5.71% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 0.49% | NVIDIA CORP 5.70% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% | BROADCOM INC 5.61% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% | AMAZON.COM INC 4.68% |
| JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.55% | |
| MICROSOFT CORP 3.49% | |
| LAM RESEARCH CORP 2.64% |
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
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQY | SCEP | QQQY | SCEP | QQQY | SCEP | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −0.1% | 8.0% | 1.7% | +2.0 pts | −2.4 pts |
| 6 months | +24.3% | +8.3% | 17.4% | 3.7% | +0.1 pts | −9.7 pts |
| 1 year | +21.1% | not published | 30.5% | not published | −0.6 pts | not published |
| 3 years | +59.1% | not published | 88.1% | not published | −39.0 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +56.9% | +3.5% | 86.8% | 5.0% | −37.7 pts | −8.2 pts |
| QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | Sterling Capital |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 29.5% | 7.1% |
| Expense ratio | 1.01% | 0.65% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 30.5% | 5.0% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) |
| Price change, 1 year | −13.2% | −1.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.1% | +3.5% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +11.7% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.6 pts | −8.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 69% | not published |
| Age | 1100 days | 281 days |
| Net assets | $188m | $235m |
QQQY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 13.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.6 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 29.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 69% 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).
SCEP in plain words
Over the period since launch on Dec 11, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, SCEP paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +11.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 8.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.1%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, QQQY or SCEP?
- QQQY charges 1.01% a year and SCEP charges 0.65%, so SCEP 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, QQQY against SCEP, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-scep Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.