Data as of Oct 30, 2026.

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Income ETFs

RYLD vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, RYLD paid 12.1% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 10.6%, though XYLD returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $1.3bn for Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF and $3.4bn for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF.

At a glance
12.1%
RYLD cash paid, 1 year
10.6%
XYLD cash paid, 1 year
+12.4%
RYLD total return, 1 year
+14.5%
XYLD total return, 1 year
RYLD · 1 year to Oct 30, 2026 2.8 pts behind IWM
RYLD
+12.4%
IWM
+15.2%

2.8 pts behind IWM

RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.3%, total +12.4%, IWM +15.2%, −2.8 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

IWM

+15.2%

RYLD

+12.4%

12.1% of it arrived as cash

2.8 pts behind IWM

Total return, distributions reinvested

2.8 pts behind IWM

RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.3%, total +12.4%, IWM +15.2%, −2.8 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

IWM

+15.2%

RYLD

+12.4%

12.1% as cash

2.8 pts behind IWM

12.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.3%, total +12.4%, IWM +15.2%, −2.8 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

Data to Oct 30, 2026.
XYLD · 1 year to Oct 30, 2026 2.1 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD
+14.5%
SPY
+12.4%

2.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +3.2%, total +14.5%, SPY +12.4%, +2.1 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

SPY

+12.4%

XYLD

+14.5%

10.6% of it arrived as cash

2.1 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

2.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +3.2%, total +14.5%, SPY +12.4%, +2.1 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

SPY

+12.4%

XYLD

+14.5%

10.6% as cash

2.1 pts ahead of SPY

10.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +3.2%, total +14.5%, SPY +12.4%, +2.1 pts. Data to Oct 30, 2026.

Data to Oct 30, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.60% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; XYLD is 2.6 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

RYLD vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureRYLDXYLD
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+12.4%+14.5%
Price change, 1 yearfell 0.3%rose 3.2%
Return of capital, issuer estimate100% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkRussell 2000, measured through IWMS&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026$1.3bn$3.4bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · XYLD scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score64.8RYLD77.4XYLD

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 166 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

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

Risk and return

May 3, 2019 to Oct 30, 2026 · 391 weekly returns
RYLD XYLD
Return
Total return edge XYLD +46.8% +77.9%
Annualized edge XYLD +5.2% +8.0%
Price return edge XYLD −39.4% −16.2%
Risk
Volatility edge XYLD 15.4% 12.9%
Max drawdown edge XYLD −38.1% −32.6%
Downside capture 62.8% 70.9%
Beta 0.54 0.66
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XYLD 0.23 0.44
Sortino edge XYLD 0.28 0.55
Treynor 0.065 0.102
Calmar edge XYLD 0.14 0.24
Against the benchmark
Alpha −1.2% a year −1.5% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.42 −0.99
Information ratio −0.38 −0.75
Tracking error 13.9% 7.8%

Each against its own benchmark: RYLD against IWM, May 3, 2019 to Oct 30, 2026; XYLD against SPY, Jul 5, 2013 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From May 2019 to Oct 2026, XYLD returned more: +77.9% to +46.8%. XYLD swung less: 12.9% to 15.4%. XYLD fell less at its worst: −32.6% to −38.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: RYLD vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureRYLDXYLDEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+46.8%+77.9%XYLDPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+5.2%+8.0%XYLDTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−39.4%−16.2%XYLDPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility15.4%12.9%XYLDSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation12.6%10.3%XYLDLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−38.1%−32.6%XYLDDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture33.2%51.3%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture62.8%70.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.540.66Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.730.78Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.230.44XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.280.55XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0650.102Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.140.24XYLDAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkIWMSPYThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−1.2% a year−1.5% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.42−0.99Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−7.0% to +4.5%−4.5% to +1.5%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.38−0.75Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error13.9%7.8%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 391 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, RYLD and XYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first RYLD XYLD
Only in one fund ↓
Only in RYLD
Global X Russell 2000 ETF 100.94%
N/A 0.00%
N/A 0.00%
N/A 0.00%
N/A 0.00%
N/A 0.00%
Only in XYLD
NVIDIA CORPORATION 7.64%
APPLE INC. 7.13%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.42%
AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.18%
ALPHABET INC. 3.28%
BROADCOM INC. 2.90%
ALPHABET INC. 2.65%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.92%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

RYLD Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on IWM, paying monthly XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
Strategy covered call covered call
Benchmark Russell 2000 (IWM) S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 11.6% 9.2%
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.60%
Cash paid, 1 year 12.1% 10.6%
Price change, 1 year −0.3% +3.2%
Total return, 1 year +12.4% +14.5%
Benchmark return, 1 year +15.2% +12.4%
Ahead or behind −2.8 pts +2.1 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 93%
Age 7.5 years 13.3 years
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $1.3bn $3.4bn

As of Oct 30, 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: RYLD vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowRYLDXYLDRYLDXYLDRYLDXYLD
3 months−1.5%+2.1%2.9%2.2%+2.4 pts+0.7 pts
6 months+4.9%+7.2%6.1%5.1%+4.4 pts+1.8 pts
1 year+12.4%+14.5%12.1%10.6%−2.9 pts+2.2 pts
3 years+36.6%+49.1%35.4%34.5%−39.0 pts−38.3 pts
Since launchNot the same days: RYLD Apr 2019 · XYLD Jun 2013+48.6%+191.4%68.4%114.5%−49.0 pts−310.6 pts

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About each fund
RYLD

Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, RYLD paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.4%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 2.8 pts. At its price on Oct 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.6%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

XYLD

Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, XYLD paid 10.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +12.4% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.1 pts. At its price on Oct 30, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.2%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, RYLD or XYLD?
Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, RYLD paid 12.1% of its starting price in cash and XYLD paid 10.6%, 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 XYLD?
With every distribution reinvested, RYLD returned +12.4% and XYLD +14.5% over the year to Oct 30, 2026.
Which is cheaper, RYLD or XYLD?
RYLD and XYLD both charge 0.60% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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.

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

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ETFIQ, RYLD against XYLD, data as of Oct 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ryld-vs-xyld

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