Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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Income ETFs

ULTY vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its price in cash against YMAX’s 36.1%, though YMAX returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $627m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF and $352m for YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs.

At a glance
44.3%
ULTY cash paid, 1 year
36.1%
YMAX cash paid, 1 year
−11.2%
ULTY total return, 1 year
−4.0%
YMAX total return, 1 year
ULTY · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY
−11.2%
Own
−15.3%

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

its own holdings

−15.3%

ULTY

−11.2%

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.1 pts ahead of its own holdings

ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

its own holdings

−15.3%

ULTY

−11.2%

44.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ULTY over 1 year: paid 44.3%, price −55.2%, total −11.2%, its own holdings −15.3%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.
YMAX · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 14.9 pts behind its own holdings
YMAX
−4.0%
Own
+10.9%

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

ULTY costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.2 points; ULTY is 1.8 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

ULTY vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureULTYYMAX
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year−11.2%−4.0%
Price change, 1 yearfell 55.2%fell 42.4%
Return of capital, issuer estimate100% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment35% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Benchmarkits own holdingsits own holdings
Cost and size
Expense ratio1.30%1.33%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$627m$352m
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · YMAX scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score14.3ULTY16.2YMAX

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

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 Oct 28, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Mar 8, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 137 weekly returns
ULTY YMAX
Return
Total return edge YMAX −0.3% +26.7%
Annualized edge YMAX −0.1% +9.4%
Price return edge YMAX −88.7% −67.0%
Risk
Volatility edge YMAX (slight) 24.1% 22.1%
Max drawdown edge YMAX (slight) −25.9% −24.1%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge YMAX −0.06 0.32
Sortino edge YMAX −0.08 0.46
Calmar edge YMAX 0.00 0.39
Reading

YMAX returned more: +26.7% to −0.3%. YMAX swung slightly less: 22.1% to 24.1%. YMAX fell slightly less at its worst: −24.1% to −25.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: ULTY vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureULTYYMAXEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return−0.3%+26.7%YMAXPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized−0.1%+9.4%YMAXTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−88.7%−67.0%YMAXPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility24.1%22.1%YMAX (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation18.4%15.4%YMAXLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−25.9%−24.1%YMAX (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe−0.060.32YMAXReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino−0.080.46YMAXReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.000.39YMAXAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 137 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, ULTY and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 28, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ULTY YMAX
Only in one fund ↓
Only in ULTY
Analog Devices Inc 5.44%
Alphabet Inc 4.74%
Shopify Inc 4.74%
Space Exploration Technologies Corp 4.54%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.32%
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 4.21%
Lam Research Corp 4.16%
MercadoLibre Inc 4.15%
Only in YMAX
YieldMax AMD Option Income Strategy ETF 5.17%
YieldMaxTM PLTR Option Income Strategy ETF 5.06%
YieldMax MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF 4.93%
YieldMax AI Option Income Strategy ETF 4.75%
YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF 4.53%
YieldMax SNOW Option Income Strategy ETF 4.53%
YieldMax COIN Option Income Strategy ETF 4.41%
YieldMax Bitcoin Option Income Strategy ETF 4.36%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ULTY YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF · Synthetic covered call on its own holdings, paying weekly YMAX YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs · Synthetic covered call on its own holdings, paying weekly
Strategy synthetic covered call synthetic covered call
Benchmark ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) YMAX's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026)
Pays weekly weekly
Payout rate, annualized 60.7% 39.9%
Expense ratio 1.30% 1.33%
Cash paid, 1 year 44.3% 36.1%
Price change, 1 year −55.2% −42.4%
Total return, 1 year −11.2% −4.0%
Benchmark return, 1 year −15.3% +10.9%
Ahead or behind +4.1 pts −14.9 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 100% 35%
Age 2.7 years 2.8 years
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $627m $352m

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

Window by window: ULTY vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowULTYYMAXULTYYMAXULTYYMAX
3 months+4.2%+10.0%15.4%10.6%−9.8 pts−18.4 pts
6 months+1.0%+10.4%28.1%22.3%−6.6 pts−15.1 pts
1 year−11.2%−4.0%44.3%36.1%+4.1 pts−14.9 pts
Since launchNot the same days: ULTY Feb 2024 · YMAX Jan 2024+4.4%+43.9%87.8%93.4%not measurednot measured

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Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-24EF961CAB

ULTY and YMAX are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. Income paid. ULTY paid 44.3% and YMAX 36.1% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 8.2 points.
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ULTY returned −11.2% and YMAX −4.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
ULTY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 55.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −11.2%. ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned −15.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.7%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 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

Which paid more, ULTY or YMAX?
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its starting price in cash and YMAX paid 36.1%, 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, ULTY or YMAX?
With every distribution reinvested, ULTY returned −11.2% and YMAX −4.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, ULTY or YMAX?
ULTY charges 1.30% a year and YMAX charges 1.33%, so ULTY is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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, ULTY against YMAX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ulty-vs-ymax

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