Data as of .
SCEP vs XQQI: which paid, and which earned it?
SCEP and XQQI both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SCEP and XQQI hold 41% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | SCEP | XQQI |
|---|---|---|
| APPLE INC | 5.71% | 7.91% |
| NVIDIA CORP | 5.70% | 8.70% |
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.68% | 4.39% |
| MICROSOFT CORP | 3.49% | 5.94% |
| ALPHABET INC | 5.98% | 3.28% |
| BROADCOM INC | 5.61% | 2.75% |
| META PLATFORMS INC | 2.23% | 3.27% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC | 2.19% | 4.08% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 2.40% | 1.84% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORP | 2.64% | 1.67% |
| WALMART INC | 1.05% | 2.38% |
| NETFLIX INC | 1.01% | 1.41% |
| Only in SCEP | Only in XQQI |
|---|---|
| JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.55% | Micron Technology Inc 5.12% |
| PARKER-HANNIFIN CORP 2.63% | Alphabet Inc 3.02% |
| WILLIAMS COMPANIES INC (THE) 2.15% | Tesla Inc 3.01% |
| ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC 2.07% | Intel Corp 2.44% |
| EQUINIX INC 2.05% | Cisco Systems Inc 1.91% |
| VISA INC 1.98% | Applied Materials Inc 1.60% |
| AMPHENOL CORP 1.94% | Sandisk Corp 1.20% |
| AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS INC 1.87% | Crowdstrike Holdings Inc 1.13% |
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 | XQQI | SCEP | XQQI | SCEP | XQQI | |
| 3 months | −0.1% | −2.7% | 1.7% | 4.8% | −2.4 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 6 months | +8.3% | +21.8% | 3.7% | 11.4% | −9.7 pts | −2.4 pts |
| Since launch | +3.5% | +14.3% | 5.0% | 13.7% | −8.2 pts | −2.9 pts |
| SCEP STERLING CAPITAL HEDGED EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | XQQI NEOS Boosted Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Sterling Capital | NEOS |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 7.1% | 20.5% |
| Expense ratio | 0.65% | 0.98% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 5.0% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) | 13.7% (since launch on Feb 3, 2026) |
| Price change, 1 year | −1.6% | −0.3% |
| Total return, 1 year | +3.5% (since launch on Dec 11, 2025) | +14.3% (since launch on Feb 3, 2026) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +11.7% | +17.3% |
| Ahead or behind | −8.2 pts | −2.9 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 281 days | 227 days |
| Net assets | $235m | $351m |
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.
XQQI in plain words
Over the period since launch on Feb 3, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026, XQQI paid 13.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +17.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 2.9 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 20.5%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Jul 10, 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 XQQI?
- SCEP charges 0.65% a year and XQQI charges 0.98%, 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 XQQI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/scep-vs-xqqi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.