Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

XYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 10.7% and the two finished level on total return.

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Net assets on Oct 12, 2026: $3.4bn for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF and $72m for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF.

At a glance
10.7%
XYLD cash paid, 1 year
12.7%
XYLG cash paid, 1 year
+15.9%
XYLD total return, 1 year
+15.6%
XYLG total return, 1 year
XYLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.1 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD
+15.9%
SPY
+14.8%

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLD

+15.9%

10.7% of it arrived as cash

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLD

+15.9%

10.7% cash

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

10.7% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
XYLG · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of SPY
XYLG
+15.6%
SPY
+14.8%

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLG

+15.6%

12.7% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of SPY

12.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.9%. XYLG over 1 year: paid 12.7%, price +1.5%, total +15.6%, SPY +14.8%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.9%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XYLG costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; XYLD is far larger, $3.4bn against $72m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

XYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureXYLDXYLG
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+15.9%+15.6%
Price change, 1 yearrose 4.4%rose 1.5%
Return of capital, issuer estimate93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment80% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkS&P 500, measured through SPYS&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026$3.4bn$72m
Holdings
Holdings in common100%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · XYLD scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score77.5XYLD70.4XYLG

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 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

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 →

Method

Risk and return

Oct 2, 2020 to Oct 30, 2026 · 317 weekly returns · each against SPY
XYLD XYLG
Return
Total return edge XYLG +77.7% +108.2%
Annualized edge XYLG +9.9% +12.8%
Price return edge XYLG −8.0% +14.6%
Risk
Volatility edge XYLD 9.9% 12.6%
Max drawdown edge XYLD −18.5% −21.0%
Downside capture 56.5% 81.6%
Beta 0.54 0.78
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XYLG 0.67 0.76
Sortino edge XYLG 0.94 1.10
Treynor 0.124 0.124
Calmar edge XYLG 0.54 0.61
Against the benchmark
Alpha −0.2% a year −0.3% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.10 −0.29
Information ratio −0.69 −0.71
Tracking error 8.9% 4.5%
Reading

From Oct 2020 to Oct 2026, XYLG returned more: +108.2% to +77.7%. XYLD swung less: 9.9% to 12.6%. XYLD fell less at its worst: −18.5% to −21.0%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: XYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureXYLDXYLGSPYEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+77.7%+108.2%XYLGPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.9%+12.8%XYLGTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−8.0%+14.6%XYLGPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility9.9%12.6%XYLDSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation7.1%8.7%XYLDLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−18.5%−21.0%XYLDDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture40.0%67.5%100.0%XYLGShare of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture56.5%81.6%100.0%XYLDShare of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.540.781.00XYLD lowerHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.750.951.00Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.670.76XYLGReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.941.10XYLGReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1240.1240.128TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.540.61XYLGAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSPYSPYSPYThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−0.2% a year−0.3% a year0.0%Not significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.10−0.29Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−4.2% to +3.8%−2.5% to +1.9%Both include zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.69−0.71XYLD (slight)Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error8.9%4.5%0.0%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 317 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

100%

By the books each fund has filed, XYLD and XYLG hold 100% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

100% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first XYLD XYLG
NVIDIA CORPORATION 7.64% 7.60%
APPLE INC. 7.13% 7.09%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.42% 5.39%
AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.18% 4.15%
ALPHABET INC. 3.28% 3.26%
BROADCOM INC. 2.90% 2.88%
ALPHABET INC. 2.65% 2.63%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.92% 1.91%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 1.48% 1.47%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 1.47% 1.46%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 1.46% 1.45%
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 1.43% 1.41%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in XYLD
Global X US 500 ETF 0.11%
Only in XYLG
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly XYLG Global X S&P 500 Covered Call & Growth ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
Strategy covered call covered call
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 9.1% 4.4%
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.35%
Cash paid, 1 year 10.7% 12.7%
Price change, 1 year +4.4% +1.5%
Total return, 1 year +15.9% +15.6%
Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +14.8%
Ahead or behind +1.1 pts +0.8 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 93% 80%
Age 13.4 years 6.1 years
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 $3.4bn $72m

As of Nov 4, 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: XYLD vs XYLG: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowXYLDXYLGXYLDXYLGXYLDXYLG
3 months+2.4%+1.4%2.2%1.1%+2.6 pts+1.5 pts
6 months+7.9%+6.7%5.1%2.5%+2.9 pts+1.7 pts
1 year+15.9%+15.6%10.7%12.7%+1.1 pts+0.8 pts
3 years+48.4%+65.6%34.0%44.3%−34.5 pts−17.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: XYLD Jun 2013 · XYLG Sep 2020+194.8%+116.0%114.5%69.8%−316.0 pts−38.4 pts

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About each fund
XYLD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLD paid 10.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

XYLG

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLG paid 12.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.4%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 80% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, XYLD or XYLG?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLD paid 10.7% of its starting price in cash and XYLG paid 12.7%, so XYLG paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, XYLD or XYLG?
With every distribution reinvested, XYLD returned +15.9% and XYLG +15.6% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, XYLD or XYLG?
XYLD charges 0.60% a year and XYLG charges 0.35%, so XYLG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, XYLD against XYLG, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/xyld-vs-xylg

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