Which paid more, QXQ or SEPI?

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting price in cash and SEPI paid 8.8%, so QXQ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, QXQ or SEPI?

With every distribution reinvested, QXQ returned +12.1% and SEPI +15.3% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QXQ or SEPI?

QXQ charges 0.98% a year and SEPI charges 0.54%, so SEPI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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QXQ vs SEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+3.2 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: SEPI ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.44 pts

A year: QXQ 0.98%, SEPI 0.54%, per filings dated Jan 5, 2026 and Apr 30, 2026

Overlap

–

No book read for both funds

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Pair scorecard

SEPI costs 0.44 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QXQ vs SEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QXQ	SEPI
Paid and earned
Measure	QXQ	SEPI
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+15.3%
Price change, 1 year	fell 4.7%	rose 5.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	QXQ	SEPI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	QXQ	SEPI
Expense ratio	0.98%	0.54%
Net assets, QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 and SEPI as of Jun 30, 2026	$82m	$152m
Holdings
Measure	QXQ	SEPI
Holdings in common	not published

ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · SEPI scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?

IQ Income Score52QXQ88SEPI

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 171 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

QXQ 52

SEPI 88

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

One year only, and a ratio of two published numbers: it says nothing about where a distribution came from. All income ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Key numbers

15.1%

QXQ cash paid, 1 year

8.8%

SEPI cash paid, 1 year

+12.1%

QXQ total return, 1 year

+15.3%

SEPI total return, 1 year

QXQ · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ

+12.1%

QQQ

+11.3%

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

15.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

SEPI · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 3.3 pts ahead of SPY

SEPI

+15.3%

SPY

+12.0%

3.3 pts ahead of SPY

SEPI over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +5.9%, total +15.3%, SPY +12.0%, +3.3 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

SPY

+12.0%

SEPI

+15.3%

8.8% of it arrived as cash

3.3 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.3 pts ahead of SPY

SEPI over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +5.9%, total +15.3%, SPY +12.0%, +3.3 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

SPY

+12.0%

SEPI

+15.3%

8.8% cash

3.3 pts ahead of SPY

8.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. SEPI over 1 year: paid 8.8%, price +5.9%, total +15.3%, SPY +12.0%, +3.3 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Side by side

QXQ SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying quarterly SEPI Shelton Equity Premium Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer SGI Shelton

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays quarterly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 1.0% 8.6%

Expense ratio 0.98% 0.54%

Cash paid, 1 year 15.1% 8.8%

Price change, 1 year −4.7% +5.9%

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +15.3%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.3% +12.0%

Ahead or behind +0.8 pts +3.3 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate not published 99%

Age 2.4 years 1.2 years

Net assets, QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 and SEPI as of Jun 30, 2026 $82m $152m

As of Nov 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: QXQ vs SEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QXQ	SEPI	QXQ	SEPI	QXQ	SEPI
3 months	−5.4%	−1.3%	0.2%	2.1%	+0.5 pts	+1.2 pts
6 months	−3.8%	+4.6%	0.5%	4.3%	+0.4 pts	+2.9 pts
1 year	+12.1%	+15.3%	15.1%	8.8%	+0.8 pts	+3.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QXQ Jun 2024 · SEPI Sep 2025	+47.7%	+23.0%	22.8%	10.0%	+2.2 pts	+4.7 pts

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Alert

About each fund

QXQ

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 1.0%, paid quarterly.

SEPI

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, SEPI paid 8.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.0% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 3.3 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.6%, paid monthly. Shelton estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Sep 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QXQ or SEPI?: Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting price in cash and SEPI paid 8.8%, so QXQ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, QXQ or SEPI?: With every distribution reinvested, QXQ returned +12.1% and SEPI +15.3% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QXQ or SEPI?: QXQ charges 0.98% a year and SEPI charges 0.54%, so SEPI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QXQ vs EGGY QXQ vs IVVW QXQ vs DUBS QXQ vs BALI SEPI vs TDAQ SEPI vs CAIQ SEPI vs IQQQ SEPI vs XQQI

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →QXQ on its own →SEPI on its own →QXQ dividend history →SEPI dividend history →SEPI holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QXQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QXQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SGI website ↗

SEPI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SEPI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SEPI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Shelton website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QXQ against SEPI, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qxq-vs-sepi

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.

Net assets: $82m on Aug 31, 2026 for SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF, and $152m on Jun 30, 2026 for Shelton Equity Premium Income ETF.

QXQ on its own →SEPI on its own →

Growth of 100

QXQ and SEPI

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

QXQ +12.1%SEPI +15.3%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

QXQ +12.1%, SEPI +15.3%: SEPI +3.2 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.