Data as of .
QQQY vs YYY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQY paid 30.5% of its price in cash against YYY’s 12.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQY 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, QQQY and YYY hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQY | YYY |
|---|---|---|
| Cash & Other | 0.95% | 0.94% |
| Only in QQQY | Only in YYY |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% | abrdn Total Dynamic Dividend Fund 3.61% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 0.49% | BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust 3.33% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% | Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Corp 3.32% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% | Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund/Closed-end Fund 3.30% |
| PIMCO High Income Fund 3.04% | |
| 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQY | YYY | QQQY | YYY | QQQY | YYY | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −2.5% | 8.0% | 3.1% | +2.0 pts | −4.8 pts |
| 6 months | +24.3% | +4.7% | 17.4% | 6.5% | +0.1 pts | −13.3 pts |
| 1 year | +21.1% | +3.4% | 30.5% | 12.1% | −0.6 pts | −13.2 pts |
| 3 years | +59.1% | +37.1% | 88.1% | 37.7% | −39.0 pts | −41.3 pts |
| Since launch | +56.9% | +117.8% | 86.8% | 112.4% | −37.7 pts | −519.1 pts |
| QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution 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 | 29.5% | 13.3% |
| Expense ratio | 1.01% | 3.23% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 30.5% | 12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | −13.2% | −8.8% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.1% | +3.4% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.6 pts | −13.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 69% | not published |
| Age | 1100 days | 5211 days |
| Net assets | $188m | $702m |
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).
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, QQQY or YYY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting price in cash and YYY paid 12.1%, so QQQY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQY or YYY?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +21.1% and YYY returned +3.4% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQY or YYY?
- QQQY charges 1.01% a year and YYY charges 3.23%, so QQQY 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 YYY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-yyy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.