Data as of .
SDVD vs ULTY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year ULTY paid 44.9% of its price in cash against SDVD’s 9.2%, though SDVD returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SDVD scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 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, SDVD and ULTY hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | SDVD | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 0.60% | 4.31% |
| Only in SDVD | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| National HealthCare Corporation 1.12% | Alphabet Inc 5.66% |
| First BanCorp. 1.04% | Analog Devices Inc 5.47% |
| OFG Bancorp 1.03% | Amazon.com Inc 5.16% |
| The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. 1.01% | Lam Research Corp 4.99% |
| Interparfums, Inc. 1.00% | Ciena Corp 4.95% |
| Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporat 1.00% | Quanta Services Inc 4.95% |
| VeriSign, Inc. 1.00% | Lumentum Holdings Inc 4.86% |
| Assurant, Inc. 0.99% | NVIDIA Corp 4.80% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDVD | ULTY | SDVD | ULTY | SDVD | ULTY | |
| 3 months | −0.1% | −1.1% | 2.1% | 13.7% | −6.7 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 6 months | +8.3% | +14.0% | 4.4% | 30.1% | −4.3 pts | −4.0 pts |
| 1 year | +10.8% | −7.8% | 9.2% | 44.9% | −16.4 pts | −24.3 pts |
| 3 years | +53.0% | not published | 30.7% | not published | −0.7 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +47.6% | +10.7% | 29.7% | 86.9% | −4.1 pts | −44.1 pts |
| SDVD FT Vest SMID Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF Dividend stocks with call overlay on SCHD, paying monthly | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | YieldMax |
| Strategy | dividend stocks with call overlay | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.8% | 59.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 1.30% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 9.2% | 44.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | +1.2% | −54.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +10.8% | −7.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +27.2% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −16.4 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 1135 days | 932 days |
| Net assets | $888m | $721m |
SDVD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SDVD paid 9.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.8%. US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy returned +27.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 16.4 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.8%, 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 paid more, SDVD or ULTY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SDVD paid 9.2% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.9%, so ULTY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, SDVD or ULTY?
- With every distribution reinvested, SDVD returned +10.8% and ULTY returned −7.8% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so SDVD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, SDVD or ULTY?
- SDVD charges 0.85% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so SDVD 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, SDVD against ULTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/sdvd-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.