Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
RYLD vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, YMAX paid 36.1% of its price in cash against RYLD’s 12.1%, though RYLD returned more with it reinvested.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF, and $352m on Oct 27, 2026 for YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs.
2 pts behind IWM
RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
IWM
+14.1%
RYLD
+12.1%
12.1% of it arrived as cash
2 pts behind IWM
Total return, distributions reinvested
2 pts behind IWM
RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
IWM
+14.1%
RYLD
+12.1%
12.1% cash
2 pts behind IWM
12.1% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. RYLD over 1 year: paid 12.1%, price −0.6%, total +12.1%, IWM +14.1%, −2.0 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.14.9 pts behind its own holdings
YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
its own holdings
+10.9%
YMAX
−4.0%
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
its own holdings
+10.9%
YMAX
−4.0%
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
36.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.Pair scorecard
RYLD costs 0.73 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.1 points; RYLD is 3.6 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | RYLD | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | −4.0% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 0.6% | fell 42.4% |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 100% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment | 35% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Russell 2000, measured through IWM | its own holdings |
| Against its benchmark, same days | behind by 2.0 pts | behind by 14.9 pts |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 1.33% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $1.3bn | $366m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed
A percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 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 →
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 26, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 143 weekly returnsYMAX returned more: +38.1% to +29.1%. RYLD swung less: 10.6% to 21.8%. RYLD fell less at its worst: −15.3% to −24.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | RYLD | YMAX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +29.1% | +38.1% | YMAX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.7% | +12.5% | YMAX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −7.3% | −64.9% | RYLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 10.6% | 21.8% | RYLD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.0% | 15.1% | RYLD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −15.3% | −24.1% | RYLD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.52 | 0.45 | RYLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.65 | RYLD (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.64 | 0.52 | RYLD | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 143 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, RYLD and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 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
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | RYLD | YMAX | RYLD | YMAX | RYLD | YMAX |
| 3 months | −0.3% | +10.0% | 2.9% | 10.6% | +1.9 pts | −18.4 pts |
| 6 months | +6.8% | +10.4% | 6.2% | 22.3% | +2.9 pts | −15.1 pts |
| 1 year | +12.1% | −4.0% | 12.1% | 36.1% | −2.1 pts | −14.9 pts |
| 3 years | +38.8% | – | 35.9% | – | −40.5 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: RYLD Apr 2019 · YMAX Jan 2024 | +49.0% | +43.9% | 68.4% | 93.4% | −50.0 pts | not measured |
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RYLD and YMAX are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Income paid. RYLD paid 12.1% and YMAX 36.1% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 24.0 points.
- What each is measured against. RYLD is measured against Russell 2000 through IWM and YMAX against its own holdings.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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RYLD
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, RYLD paid 12.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Russell 2000 (IWM) returned +14.1% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 2.0 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.5%, 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.
YMAX
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, YMAX paid 36.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 42.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −4.0%. YMAX's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned +10.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 14.9 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 39.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 35% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).
Questions people ask
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 YMAX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ryld-vs-ymax
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). RYLD against YMAX. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ryld-vs-ymax
[RYLD against YMAX (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ryld-vs-ymax)
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