Data as of .
QUSA vs ULTY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year ULTY paid 44.9% of its price in cash against QUSA’s 13.8%, though QUSA returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QUSA 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, QUSA and ULTY hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUSA | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 5.78% | 4.80% |
| Lam Research Corp | 3.47% | 4.99% |
| Alphabet Inc | 2.22% | 5.66% |
| Fortinet Inc | 1.49% | 3.56% |
| Only in QUSA | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Corp 6.08% | Analog Devices Inc 5.47% |
| Apple Inc 5.99% | Amazon.com Inc 5.16% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc 5.35% | Ciena Corp 4.95% |
| Caterpillar Inc 4.91% | Quanta Services Inc 4.95% |
| Broadcom Inc 4.70% | Lumentum Holdings Inc 4.86% |
| Costco Wholesale Corp 4.40% | IREN Ltd 4.80% |
| Coca-Cola Co/The 4.33% | Strategy Inc 4.65% |
| Meta Platforms Inc 4.28% | Astera Labs Inc 4.56% |
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 Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QUSA | ULTY | QUSA | ULTY | QUSA | ULTY | |
| 3 months | −1.9% | −1.1% | 3.6% | 13.7% | −3.6 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 6 months | +10.4% | +14.0% | 7.8% | 30.1% | −4.3 pts | −4.0 pts |
| 1 year | +3.5% | −7.8% | 13.8% | 44.9% | −11.7 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Since launch | +4.9% | +10.7% | 15.1% | 86.9% | −25.8 pts | −44.1 pts |
| QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF Covered call on QUAL, paying monthly | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | VistaShares | YieldMax |
| Strategy | covered call | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 15.3% | 59.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.97% | 1.30% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 13.8% | 44.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | −11.0% | −54.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +3.5% | −7.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +15.2% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −11.7 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 500 days | 932 days |
| Net assets | $22m | $721m |
QUSA in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QUSA paid 13.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 11.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.7 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.3%, paid monthly.
ULTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, ULTY paid 44.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 54.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −7.8%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 24.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 59.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax 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).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QUSA or ULTY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QUSA paid 13.8% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.9%, so ULTY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QUSA or ULTY?
- With every distribution reinvested, QUSA returned +3.5% and ULTY returned −7.8% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QUSA returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QUSA or ULTY?
- QUSA charges 0.97% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so QUSA 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, QUSA against ULTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qusa-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.