Data as of .
SCEP vs ULTY: which paid, and which earned it?
SCEP and ULTY both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SCEP and ULTY hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | SCEP | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| ALPHABET INC | 5.98% | 4.39% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORP | 2.64% | 4.34% |
| NVIDIA CORP | 5.70% | 2.36% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC | 2.19% | 5.23% |
| ANALOG DEVICES INC | 1.87% | 4.11% |
| PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC | 0.78% | 4.27% |
| Only in SCEP | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| APPLE INC 5.71% | MercadoLibre Inc 4.99% |
| BROADCOM INC 5.61% | Lumentum Holdings Inc 4.75% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.68% | Strategy Inc 4.66% |
| JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.55% | Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.61% |
| MICROSOFT CORP 3.49% | Coherent Corp 4.30% |
| PARKER-HANNIFIN CORP 2.63% | Space Exploration Technologies Corp 4.11% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 2.40% | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 4.07% |
| META PLATFORMS INC 2.23% | Robinhood Markets Inc 4.07% |
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 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCEP | ULTY | SCEP | ULTY | SCEP | ULTY | |
| 3 months | −0.1% | −1.1% | 1.7% | 13.7% | −2.4 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 6 months | +8.3% | +14.0% | 3.7% | 30.1% | −9.7 pts | −4.0 pts |
| 1 year | not published | −7.8% | not published | 44.9% | not published | −24.3 pts |
| Since launch | +3.5% | +10.7% | 5.0% | 86.9% | −8.2 pts | −44.1 pts |
| SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Sterling Capital | YieldMax |
| Strategy | covered call | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 7.1% | 59.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.65% | 1.30% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 5.0% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) | 44.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | −1.6% | −54.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +3.5% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) | −7.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +11.7% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −8.2 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 281 days | 932 days |
| Net assets | $235m | $721m |
SCEP in plain words
Over the period since launch on Dec 11, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, SCEP paid 5.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 1.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +11.7% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 8.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.1%, 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 is cheaper, SCEP or ULTY?
- SCEP charges 0.65% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so SCEP 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, SCEP against ULTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/scep-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.