Data as of .
RYLD vs SPYI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year RYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 12.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: RYLD scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 161 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, RYLD and SPYI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in RYLD | Only in SPYI |
|---|---|
| GLOBAL X RUSSELL 2000 ETF 99.96% | NVIDIA Corp 7.57% |
| CASH 0.04% | Apple Inc 6.59% |
| Microsoft Corp 4.32% | |
| Amazon.com Inc 3.65% | |
| Alphabet Inc 3.28% | |
| Broadcom Inc 2.80% | |
| Alphabet Inc 2.61% | |
| Micron Technology Inc 1.99% |
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 11, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RYLD | SPYI | RYLD | SPYI | RYLD | SPYI | |
| 3 months | +3.9% | +4.0% | 3.1% | 3.0% | +5.1 pts | +0.7 pts |
| 6 months | +13.1% | +12.6% | 6.3% | 6.3% | −4.5 pts | −3.4 pts |
| 1 year | +18.1% | +15.8% | 12.3% | 12.1% | −3.1 pts | −1.7 pts |
| 3 years | +30.9% | +56.5% | 32.7% | 37.4% | −31.7 pts | −21.3 pts |
| Since launch | +51.9% | +76.9% | 67.2% | 49.2% | −51.8 pts | −25.6 pts |
| RYLD Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF Covered call on IWM, paying monthly | SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Global X | NEOS |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Russell 2000 (IWM) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 12.3% | 12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +4.7% | +2.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +18.1% | +15.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.2% | +17.5% |
| Ahead or behind | −3.1 pts | −1.7 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 100% | 93% |
| Age | 2699 days | 1473 days |
RYLD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, RYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.1%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +21.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.4%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Aug 27, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, SPYI paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.7 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 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, RYLD or SPYI?
- Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, RYLD paid 12.3% of its starting price in cash and SPYI paid 12.1%, so RYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, RYLD or SPYI?
- With every distribution reinvested, RYLD returned +18.1% and SPYI returned +15.8% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so RYLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, RYLD or SPYI?
- RYLD charges 0.60% a year and SPYI charges 0.68%, so RYLD 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, RYLD against SPYI, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ryld-vs-spyi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.