ULTY vs VAIE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
ULTY and VAIE both write options for income. Net assets on Oct 19, 2026: $651m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF and $67m for VegaShares US Equity Autocallable Income ETF.
VAIE costs 0.56 points a year less; ULTY is 9.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| ULTY | VAIE | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 1.30% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026 | $651m | $67m |
| Total return, 1 year | −9.8% | not published |
| Benchmark | its own holdings | not published |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Price change | fell 54.2% (1 year) | fell 3.6% (since May 12, 2026) |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 100% of the Oct 22, 2026 payment | |
4.2 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.0%, price −54.2%, total −9.8%, its own holdings −14.0%, +4.2 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
its own holdings
−14.0%
ULTY
−9.8%
4.2 pts ahead of its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
4.2 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.0%, price −54.2%, total −9.8%, its own holdings −14.0%, +4.2 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
its own holdings
−14.0%
ULTY
−9.8%
44.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.0%, price −54.2%, total −9.8%, its own holdings −14.0%, +4.2 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Not measured
VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
VAIE
+3.3%
6.8% as cash
Total return, distributions reinvested
Not measured
VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
VAIE
+3.3%
6.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | ULTY | VAIE | ULTY | VAIE | ULTY | VAIE |
| 3 months | −0.4% | +2.5% | 14.4% | 4.1% | −1.1 pts | not measured |
| 6 months | +1.8% | – | 28.0% | – | −4.6 pts | – |
| 1 year | −9.8% | – | 44.0% | – | +4.2 pts | – |
| Since launch Not the same days: ULTY Feb 2024 · VAIE May 2026 | +6.6% | +3.3% | 87.5% | 6.8% | not measured | not measured |
Source: ETFIQ. – means no data for this window, usually because the fund is younger than it. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid is what the fund distributed over the window, as a share of its price at the start. Payout rate is its latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.
About ULTY
Over the year to Oct 20, 2026, ULTY paid 44.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 54.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −9.8%. ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 19, 2026) returned −14.0% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 64.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 22, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
About VAIE
Over the period from its first trade on May 12, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, VAIE paid 6.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.3%. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 16.8%, paid weekly.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, ULTY against VAIE, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ulty-vs-vaie
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). ULTY against VAIE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ulty-vs-vaie
[ULTY against VAIE (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ulty-vs-vaie)
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