Data as of .
XISE vs YMAG: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year YMAG paid 35.5% of its price in cash against XISE’s 6.5%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: XISE 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, XISE and YMAG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in XISE | Only in YMAG |
|---|---|
| 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust C 0.08 98.96% | YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF 14.58% |
| 2027-09-17 State Street® SPDR® S&P 500® ETF Trust P 761.61 5.02% | YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF 14.24% |
| US Dollar 1.19% | YieldMax Tsla Option Income ETF 14.21% |
| U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 01/28/2027 0.55% | YieldMax Amzn Option Income ETF 14.11% |
| U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 02/25/2027 0.55% | YieldMax GOOGL Option Income Strategy ETF 14.11% |
| U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 10/29/2026 0.55% | YieldMax Meta Option Income Strategy ETF 13.99% |
| U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/01/2026 0.55% | YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF 13.90% |
| U.S. Treasury Bill, 0%, due 12/31/2026 0.55% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 0.87% |
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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XISE | YMAG | XISE | YMAG | XISE | YMAG | |
| 3 months | +1.2% | +6.1% | 2.0% | 9.4% | −1.1 pts | −1.6 pts |
| 6 months | +4.9% | +15.4% | 3.6% | 21.1% | −13.2 pts | −5.3 pts |
| 1 year | +6.1% | +9.7% | 6.5% | 35.5% | −10.5 pts | −1.5 pts |
| 3 years | +20.9% | not published | 19.1% | not published | −57.5 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +21.1% | +70.7% | 19.2% | 89.1% | −57.0 pts | −34.1 pts |
| XISE FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Premium Income ETF - September Buffer with income on SPY, paying monthly | YMAG YieldMax(R) Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs Synthetic covered call on MAGS, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | YieldMax |
| Strategy | buffer with income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | Magnificent Seven (MAGS) |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 6.0% | 30.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.85% | 1.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 6.5% | 35.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −0.6% | −28.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.1% | +9.7% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +11.2% |
| Ahead or behind | −10.5 pts | −1.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 80% |
| Age | 1096 days | 962 days |
| Net assets | $32m | $297m |
XISE in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, XISE paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.0%, paid monthly.
YMAG in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, YMAG paid 35.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 28.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.7%. Magnificent Seven (MAGS) returned +11.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 30.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 80% 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, XISE or YMAG?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, XISE paid 6.5% of its starting price in cash and YMAG paid 35.5%, so YMAG paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, XISE or YMAG?
- With every distribution reinvested, XISE returned +6.1% and YMAG returned +9.7% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so YMAG returned more.
- Which is cheaper, XISE or YMAG?
- XISE charges 0.85% a year and YMAG charges 1.34%, so XISE 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, XISE against YMAG, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/xise-vs-ymag Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.